Fragaria
by ALaCarte
Summary: A story about the Kira case, with an expert psychologist thrown in. Quite possibly OCXL. ***SEQUEL TO THE CATALYST.
1. Chapter 1

**I was born free…**

The woman's hands were there to pick up the toddler as soon as she'd fallen down, hitting her head against the coffee table. "Shh, shh" the mother cooed before realizing the child wasn't crying or upset at all. The same calm demeanor as always was etched into the girl's small face. The mother's eyebrows knitted together in confusion momentarily, but the child wriggled out of her mother's arms and tottered over to the bookshelf.

**...**

A man laughed, pushing the back of the small boy in front of him. "Faster, daddy!" The boy urged, breath sending out clouds in the harsh winter cold. His wish was complied, and the boy flew higher into the frigid grey sky, uncaring that a red mitten leapt from his pocket and into a pile of snow at the base of the swing set. The father shook his head, a smile still on his face as he bent to retrieve the boy's fallen item.

**Until I learned I have something called a 'gift'…**

A much older man than the ones that worked in St. Mary's orphanage approached her, and her heart dropped in fear. "Young lady, did you read all those books yourself?" The old man asked in a kind voice, she had learned not to trust kindness. It was always a lie to mask someone's true intention.

"No." The girl stated, her voice unable to shake from the nervousness she was feeling internally.

The man raised his eyebrows in surprise. "No?" He questioned, his few facial ticks displaying his true disappointment.

She was confused, "You're discontent, but why... Whenever I tell someone, they send me away." The girl said quietly, looking down at the psychology book she'd stolen from one of the college orphanage volunteers.

**...**

The boy was nearly in his preteens, and Scotland yard had already been bested by his skills. The older man hovering above him ruffled the haphazard black hair happily, causing the boy to look up at him. "May I have some more cake now?" he questioned, wide owl-like eyes pinned eagerly to the old man's face.

"I don't see why not," the old man stated. "Although, you really must finish your meal first"

The boy's expression soured, "I feel compelled to remind you of my recent achievement, and that I should have some more cake on the grounds of celebration" the boy stated.

The old man looked surprised, then chuckled warmly. "I suppose just this once won't do any harm" the old man consented, shuffling over to the dessert tray.

**Then, gravity began to weigh me down…**

"R?" The man asked again, pointing at the blackboard.

The pre-teen girl stares directly at him. "That is not my name" she says evenly, even though the teacher is red in the face from their argument.

"R, when you came to this institution, you consented to a change of name as well as surrendering to us all of your records. Your name is R. Headmaster has told me so himself" the teacher said, exhausted by the repeated discussion brought up by the girl.

"My name is Robin" she stated, tucking a piece of her short blonde hair behind her ear.

The teacher sighs, she can tell it's from frustration and smiles in her head: It is a gesture she cannot yet perform externally. "I don't want to have to send you to Headmaster Whammy's office again" the teacher says, using a scare tactic she had long become accustomed to.

Robin looked around at the rest of the empty classroom, of the seven students and counting in the institution, she was the only one who wanted to take abnormal psychology. It's a shame no one is here to see her handiwork. "Then simply call me by my proper alias and you will not have to" she states.

The teacher rubs a hand over his face. A transparent sign of his breaking point. _Ah well, it was fun while it lasted,_ Robin thinks to herself. "To the Headmaster's office, now!" the man roars at her.

She gets up from her seat without a qualm, already playing out Mr. Whammy's usual rhetoric in her head. _"How many times must I tell you, Robin, the teachers are not for you to perform psych experiments on"_

**...**

Another phone rings out shrilly, adding to the already noisy room.

The barely-teen boy glares at the mess of ringing phones before him and picks up the nearest one. "20 innocent people were killed due to your miscalculations!" The voice on the other end blares immediately.

The boy is taken aback, unsure of what to say to quell the voice of the French prime minister. 20 civilians had been riding the train he specifically told the prime minister to section off, while the official had not seen it fit then, it hardly seemed fair to blame the boy now.

"How can you just sit there and not say a thing?" The phone blared. "Are you even listening, L?"

With distaste, he dropped the phone back into it's cradle, hanging up the call. It was an untactful response that Mr. Whammy had chastised him for repeatedly, but he could care less about the ramifications for the time being.

The rest of the nest of ringing phones doesn't appeal to L, and he looks at the devices bleakly amongst the paperwork and files scattered on the table. Begrudgingly, he picks up another receiver which informs him in a British accent. "A serial killer has been targeting families in London…"

L is immediately alert, taking down notes and requesting case files be sent to his encrypted email. He digs through the mess of papers to find the serial criminal profiling manual he commonly references.

It's only when he looks up and remembers the rest of the ringing phones that his spirit once again drops. _Where is Mr. Whammy when I need him? …Fulfilling his role as scolding Headmaster, no doubt._

**I saw so many things, things that I wish I could erase…**

"A, I picked up an apple from the kitchen for you," the teen girl says to her roommate as she opens the door. Were she capable of it, she would have rose her eyebrows at the darkness in the room. "It's peculiar to sit in the dark so" Robin commented before flicking the light switch on.

Surprise was the first thing to cross her mind, followed by fear and pain as she stared at the corpse swinging from the fan, a leather belt around her neck. The array of emotions didn't play across her placid face, but Robin found herself rooted to the ground in a typical symptom of shock.

She heard footsteps at the end of the hall, a monitor making their nightly rounds. Robin wanted to cry out, but found herself unable to do so as the woman approached her with flashlight in hand. "Young lady, what on earth are you doing standing in the hall after curfew?" the woman asked as she approached, ready to dole out a punishment. However, the words die on the monitor's lips as soon as she sees the figure swinging in the room beyond Robin.

The monitor shrieked so loud that Robin jumped, but the woman paid no heed as she shoved past the teenager into the room. "I brought her an apple" Robin muttered uselessly as the monitor quickly got Adeline down from the fan, unbuckling the belt and tossing it on the floor.

"I can't find a pulse!" the monitor wailed, turning back to Robin. "Run, get help!" the woman ordered before giving Adeline CPR. Robin hesitated before walking down the hall, her feet felt like lead. She wondered why the monitor's eyes had been so wide upon seeing Adeline. Robin chalked it up to another puzzling emotional expression, and navigated the staircase directly to Mr. Whammy's office.

She knocked on the door tentatively, the old man that answered was groggy but immediately alert upon spotting her at his door. "I brought her an apple" Robin stated calmly as she started to get dizzy. "I don't think she's going to eat it, though" Robin mumbled before fainting on the rug.

**...**

It was his first real mission. Since reaching the legal age of adulthood, L had been adamant about playing an active role in a case. His argument seemed reasonable enough, after all, his eyes could discover clues where simple police officers could not.

However, this was not supposed to happen, the plan was not supposed to go awry. There wasn't supposed to be any real danger. "Judging by the surveillance tapes, The assailant is a Caucasian female in a nurse uniform. She was last seen on the corner of 32nd and 5th after abducting the infant from the hospital"

L ignored any further transmissions from the headset as he came to a dead stop at the mouth of the alley. Horrible wailing screams that had been blocked out by the street traffic were clearly audible in the alleyway he'd ducked in to take as a shortcut. Almost against his will, the detective took a step further to examine the source coming from behind a nearby dumpster. The figure was hunched over, long black hair messily escaping from a once orderly bun. The plain white nurse's uniform was stained a bright red.

His headset crackled to life again. "L? L? Is there something wrong? Come in, over" the speaker questioned him, but he was too occupied with the horror before him. Another scream rang through the air, followed by a sickening snap that made him shake uncontrollably.

In a haze, he pushed the transmission button on the side of his headset with one hand. "S-s-she's… devouring the baby alive" L said in shock, feeling his stomach turn threateningly. "She…" L stammered, wincing as the infant finally fell silent in the woman's hands. He finally remembered to remove his hand from the transmission button as he placed both shaking hands on his handgun.

The woman turned, face splattered with red and grinning like a federal animal. "P-police!" he shouted in what he hoped was an intimidating way, "Don't move or I'll shoot!" L ordered. The woman took no regard of his words, but simply lunged. L pulled the trigger. The woman slumped limply to the ground.

**They haunt me when lights flee a room, they've blessed me with these circles under my eyes…**

Robin kicked at the arms holding her captive, lashing out with her fists when she could. At that moment, she wished more than anything that she was capable of screaming. These people wanted to kill her, she knew. They wanted her put on death row for what A did, Robin tried to tell them it wasn't her fault. She was pleading with them, but no one believed her. People were sneering and laughing at her as other arms fought to hold her in place.

"If you didn't do it, why don't you sound sorry? Why cant you cry?" the voices mocked her and she suddenly jolted awake. The plain white sheets were haphazardly wound around her, restricting her movement, and it took awhile for her to unwind herself. As soon as she was done, she flicked on the light switch and immediately felt calmed. It seemed stupid for an 18-year-old living on her own to be scared of the dark.

**...**

The 20-year-old man was hunched over the computer, looking over the international cases again, surfing for anything new. It's what he did when he couldn't sleep, the insomnia that came with his job always kept him awake. He raised his brows as a description caught his eye; deep quizzical murders with puzzles no one else could solve. It was a case begging for his expertise. After reading the file, he regretted it as a ghost from his past immediately popped up in his head; Beyond Birthday.

The obsessive boy had left the institution many years ago, had disappeared together with another student. Now, L was almost sure of it, B was coming back to haunt him. No, not haunt, taunt. B craved L's attention, and at the same time wanted to best L and be praised. It was a vicious thing, what the institution had done to B. L felt a hint of sadness for the man before he resumed gathering information on the case, it was still work and needed to be dealt with either way.

**So I've got my quirks, I'm doing things you don't like…**

She was nervous, but for once thankful of the calm façade that her restricted prosody awarded her. Her Asperger-related symptoms could occasionally work to her advantage. "And now, I present Mrs. Robin Steele!" the announcer said from the podium, smiling at her from where she was standing offstage. Clapping echoed through the auditorium where her lecture series was taking place as she emerged from behind the curtain, notebook in hand. The black heels she was wearing in order to look professional only furthered her wobbly clumsiness problem, but thankfully Robin remained upright as she walked.

"Good morning" she started, speaking into the mike as she reached the podium. "I'm here to talk to you about-60% of people living in the united states believe aliens to be in existence" Robin blurted, immediately covering her mouth afterwards. She should have expected her symptoms would act up when she's nervous, that was typical. Only three more hours of the seminar, too.

**...**

"I will not consent to work for you if my contracted demands are not met" L stated evenly into the phone. The American governor sighed heavily and L cradled the phone in one hand as he constructed the sugar-cube pyramid with the other. Watari, as L had taken to calling him lately, no longer felt the need to badger him about his hunched posture. Something he was currently guilty of, sitting curled in the office desk chair. The silence on the line was beginning to discern L, he really did want to work on B's case, but if he wavered in his demands, people in the future wouldn't think them so important. L chewed on his thumb.

"I simply do not understand the importance of a limitless amount to spend on sweets. If you intend to bring your children along with you-" L dropped the phone in his shock. If he weren't upset that he'd just wreaked his own sugar cube sculpture, L might have laughed at the suggestion. Children? Him? Surely that thought alone was absurd. Besides, the children of the institution were practically classified as his own biological ones.

**No one fully understands or cares…**

Robin had been shocked when she ran into B, the same boy she had fled the institution alongside. It seemed pure coincidence that they were both in the same LA hotel, using the same stairs, at the same time. But of course, as she would come to realize later, her best friend had planned it all along. Beyond Birthday had turned out to play her for the ultimate fool, pitting her against L for his own selfish needs. Even so, she still loved the boy he had been back when they were children.

**...**

L frowned at his laptop screen at his headquarters in London when R declined to help him. It hadn't been foreseen at all that R would refuse. And in such a forceful manner, too. He knew that R was B's childhood best friend, he knew that she would know the most about him. Coupled with that and her extensive psychological success since leaving the institution, she had been the ideal candidate for the case. Oh well. The case would be solved without her, anyway.

**I'm on my own, beside myself…**

The day of Beyond Birthday's wake was rainy and muggy. It was a private affair, Robin had been the one to arrange it herself. She'd sent invitations all along the institution's mail line, but she was left standing at the memorial site alone. It was expected, B was a criminal after all. And, for many of her colleagues, it meant he was the enemy.

**...**

L hesitated as he stepped out of the car, perhaps he should have taken Watari's advice about the shoes. The mud of the Whammy garden grinded between his toes and under his feet as he made his way toward the lone figure dressed in black. She was holding an umbrella. She looked much stronger than she'd been at the hospital.

**Until the day… You were by my side…**

"B" Robin said quietly to the ornate urn full of ashes in her hands. "You'll always be my best friend" she finished, placing the urn in the specially-built stone alcove among the soggy poppy patch. _You're laying him to rest, but you don't even know if those ashes are truly his-_The nasty voice in her head is thankfully cut off when she jumps suddenly at the voice behind her.

**...**

"He'll always be my rival" L said from behind her, making R visibly jump. His eyes quickly flickered from her figure to the serial killer's memorial; and the urn where the only remains of the 404 condo fire rested. "However, I wouldn't have preferred it that way" L added as his gaze returned to her. Their eyes met in silence.

**A/N: These are little snippets of Robin and L's lives before the Kira case, side by side, as they grew up (L is 2 years older than Robin). I thought it would be a good introduction for those readers who didn't read "The Catalyst". However, I highly recommend reading that story first if you'd like to get a better idea of Robin's character and her relationship with L proceeding the Kira case; very important. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story. Reviews and crit are very very welcome! -Luv, Cart**


	2. Chapter 2

**Fragaria**

Robin walked around the spacious room curiously, eyeing the expensive furniture the hotel had placed in the living room before turning to look out the massive window. It had been a long time since she was in a place so extravagant, but somehow the differences of the hotel to her own brownstone in LA was comforting. After the events in LA, Robin had needed a change of scenery and had thus briefly returned to the Winchester Whammy house alongside L; and now they were in Tokyo. All thanks to L's most recent case that she had begrudgingly agreed to help with as a distraction from the shambles B had left Robin's life in.

"Finding everything impressive, R?" Came a voice from behind her, and Robin visibly jumped in spite of herself. Immediately, she wheeled around to face none other than the world's first-class detective.

"Are you going to keep making me jump out of my skin on a daily basis, or is there some kind of weekly quota?" Robin asked, ignoring L's question entirely. "And how many times do I have to say it, my name is not R" she said, gravitating towards the tray of sweets L had brought in with him. The man sat down on the sofa, placing the tray on the coffee table in front of him.

"I think its about a 95% chance you're simply naturally jumpy" L commented, picking up a chocolate-covered strawberry from the tray and popping it into his mouth. Robin licked her lips, strawberries were her favorite. "In addition, I am perfectly fine going by L, you should be fine with R." L spoke as he chewed the strawberry lewdly with his mouth open. "Oh, also, sentences don't begin with 'and'." L said as he picked up the TV remote, switching the TV to the news channel immediately.

Robin sat beside him on the couch. "Is the remaining 5% chance that you're a creep that enjoys sneaking up on me?" she asked, watching his face as he focused on the news. She stole a strawberry blindly with one hand, making sure he didn't display any signs of spotting her.

"The remaining 5% chance is that you developed this jumpiness yourself. Nature vs. nurture concept" L stated before suddenly grabbing her wrist loosely, making her drop the pilfered strawberry. "When you don't refute the rest of my claims, it becomes obvious you're busy performing another task. Like stealing my treats" he finished, annoyed, not even looking up from the TV.

Robin wriggled her hand futility in his grasp before pausing and clearing her throat. "Mr. Whammy!" Robin called, her voice only a few decibels louder than normal despite her concentration.

L looked at her, raising his eyebrows curiously. "Did you just attempt to yell?" he questioned.

If Robin could show her embarrassment, her cheeks would be stained a deep red. Among Robin's Aspergers symptoms was the inability to express emotions properly, or sometimes at all, which was occasionally an advantage but mostly a curse. "I've been working on it with Mr. Frederick" she stated plainly, naming her court-assigned therapist.

L nodded before retuning his gaze to the TV. "That could be dangerous in the future, Whammy should construct some kind of alarm device for you" he commented.

"If you don't let go of my hand in the next five seconds, you're going to need an alarm device" Robin stated, giving him her best attempt at a glare; intently focusing on L with her eyes narrowed.

He looked at her again, quizzical upon seeing her expression. "…Are you feeling well?" L questioned. To him, and most people, her expression looked like she had a bad stomachache.

"I'm glaring at you" Robin said with a sigh and gave up.

L's mouth quirked up in an amused smile before he let her wrist go, putting his thumb thoughtfully to his lips instead. At the exact moment that Robin began to rub her wrist, Whammy strode into the room. "Behaving ourselves are we?" the old man questioned, looking pleased to see his two charges sitting together on the couch without arguing.

"No," Robin stated "L cant learn to share"

"You never asked if I wanted to share, you simply tried to steal" L paused, popping another strawberry in his mouth as if to tease her. "Crimes are exactly what we are supposed to be preventing in our line of work" he added in a serious tone, although ruined by his habit of chewing with his mouth open as he spoke.

Robin gave him a dead stare. "I honestly don't know how you expect people to get along with you" she stated flatly.

Whammy sighed as he clapped his hands together twice, an action that made both of the adults on the sofa sit bold upright. "You two are going to have to at least try to stop your constant bickering if you want to solve this case. You're both adults now, no need to act like children" Whammy stated.

"Yes Mr. Whammy" both Robin and L said in unison as Robin internally cursed the double clap that Whammy had wired into them. Back when they were younger and in the institution, anyone misbehaving was given the double clap; which meant immediate silence or dire consequences.

The old man straightened his tie, "Now, I'm off to set up the monitor and computer rooms, so you two play nice while I'm gone. Perhaps brush up on the case?" Whammy suggested before walking back into the hall.

Robin stared at L blankly for a minute before he slipped a folder out from under the tray of sweets on the table. "Need I remind you that Whammy and I are to be referred to as Watari and Ryuzaki for this case? I suggest you form a Japanese alias as well" L said as he opened the folder, pushing the tray of sweets aside so that he could lay out all the documents.

She brushes off the feelings L's words dreg up; tries to forget that it's the exact alias that B had used. "No thank you. Unlike you, I prefer one alias" Robin stated. "I'm not prey to overcompensation"

L displayed no anger, playing himself as aloof per his usual. "Overcompensation? You're forgetting that I have plenty of brain capacity. Coupled with my good looks, theirs nothing more a person could want. I would have no reason to be guilty of such a thing"

Robin gave him another dead stare. "…Shall we focus on the case instead of your daydreams?"

L let that one roll right off his back. "Since we've gone over the information of this case many times before, unless you need me to describe it to you once more, I suggest we discuss a course of action" L said.

Robin ignored his comment "From my perspective, based on Kira's habits and information so far, he can be goaded out of hiding. We simply need to find the right thing to tease him with. He seems rather vain, so beating him at his own game is a perfect way to trap him" Robin stated.

L nodded. "That seems highly plausible. I pose this scenario: a fake detective L goes on live TV vowing to abolish Kira. Kira, being as vain as you say, will send us some sort of message in return with a 84% certainty. If we play the announcement in only once sector of Japan at a time, we will be able to narrow down where Kira is running his operation from"

"Cross reference the highest scoring students in the schools of that area, and we have a target" Robin stated, at which L looked at her curiously.

"How do you figure that?" L questioned.

"I didn't mention? The killings vaguely correlate to a typical Japanese school schedule. Backed up by Kira's qualities, Kira is most likely a highly intelligent college student. There you have it" Robin explained.

L frowned. "That's too far of a leap without proper evidence. How does Kira know police proceedings so well if he is a simple student?"

"He could be studying criminal law for all we know" Robin stated.

"I think we should work our way from a larger area and slowly eliminate those who could not possibly be Kira. We don't want anyone slipping through the cracks" L said, biting on his thumb again.

"I suppose" Robin stated, feeling very annoyed at his simple dismissal of her opinion although her tone didn't reflect it.

_I'm the one around here that can read people like a book, not you L. _Robin thought,_ I know very much what I'm talking about, I have three degrees on the subject, thank you very much. The sooner you trust that, the sooner we'd be able to work better together. You aren't accustomed to partner work at all, are you?_

"After we narrow it down, I believe we should establish a task force" L said, trudging on through the conversation oblivious to her annoyance.

"Task force? You don't think we could handle this ourselves? How would we even know that we could trust this task force?" Robin questioned.

"It's a big case, I couldn't solve it from Winchester. I had to ask your help as well. With things proceeding the way they are, it would be prudent to assemble a team. We will draw members from the Japanese police, voluntarily of course. Then we will have the added advantage of police on our side, no matter what we decide to do" L stated as if it was obvious.

"That makes me feel so safe" her tone did not convey her sarcasm, "I barely trust you as far as I could throw you, let alone these Japanese police I have never met. One of them could even be Kira. We should devise some sort for test for them" Robin paused thoughtfully. "…Just what kinds of things do you think you're going to decide to do, anyway?" she asked suspiciously.

L ignored her question. "Yes, yes, a sound suggestion. Although I was already going to perform an extensive background check on whomever agrees to join us, I would be happy to devise a test myself if it would make you feel more at ease with a task force"

Robin stared at him in silence for a few moments, "as long as I get to look them over myself as well" she stated.

L nodded in what she assumed was agreement. "As soon as Whammy assembles the computer room, I will resume contact with the police and inform them of the task force issue" he said.

"Well then, as long as we have our plans sorted out for now, I'm going to go unpack and take a shower before I head out to look at Tokyo" Robin said, stretching as she stood. "Oh, actually, would you like to join me?" She asked.

He looked bewildered. "In the shower?" L questioned.

"…No" she deadpanned. "I was referring to when I go out to look at Tokyo. Its our only chance to see the sights before we start battling Kira for real and we have to hide" Robin stated matter-of-factly, choosing to ignore L's stupid question. Even if his aloofness was sometimes an act, it was also painfully obvious he was being honest most of the time.

"It's not hiding. It's called being an indoor detective." L stated sourly.

"You just made that up" Robin accused as she started to walk across the room. "Either way, you cant expect a lady like me to go out in a big city alone. I trust Mr. Whammy would only agree on that, so I'll tell on you if you don't come" she finished as she walked out into the hall.

"An outing would be far too dangerous for either of us. Whammy would agree on that." he called after her, frowning as she didn't return to the room; she'd called his bluff about Whammy. The old caretaker would be fine, possibly pleased, with the whole idea. Whammy always stressed the importance of fresh air and exposure to fresh cultures. After all, it wasn't as if anyone could be able to tell who they were simply by looking at them.

_No, that's untrue, Robin is a published author. Even in Japan, it is possible that someone could recognize her. If they were the right type of person, with the right type of information, they could possibly make a connection from her to me… _L paused in his thought, _Is this what Robin was talking about when she kept calling me overly paranoid on the plane?_

"…I refuse to wear shoes" L called down the hallway in defeat, but the only reply he received was the slamming of Robin's door.

Robin changed out of the suit she'd worn on the plane to Tokyo and showered quickly. She decided on wearing a simple light blue jersey knee-length skirt and a white tank top instead of one of her many suits, since sightseeing was supposed to be a lighthearted affair.

"Alright L, I'm ready to go" Robin said as she stepped into the living area, a tan leather purse slung over one shoulder. She found him in the same place on the couch that she'd left him and sighed before striding over to the stoic detective. "Well, come on then, we have things to see" Robin said to L, hands on her hips as she waited for him to get up.

"I don't see why this is important" L grumbled, begrudgingly standing. "There is a 90% chance that my identity could be compromised by this outing"

Robin surveyed his face for a moment before she scoffed and grabbed him by the shirt sleeve, "You're a liar. Your behavior is deliberately opposite the subtle ticks most people display before they falsify information. By instinct most people would rather sit than stand in order to tell a lie; because it gives them a sense of security. Instead of trying to change the subject and hide, you leave it open for further debate. You refrain from touching your face, and make absolute sure you've locked your stare with mine. Commonly, these would all be signs of telling the truth." she paused, letting a smirk overtake her features, "but, you aren't exactly a common person"

L fought to stop his own smirk from showing as his thumb flew to his lips. "Without your-" Robin cut him off before he could go any further.

"I'm guessing you're inverting your percentages again. Even a 10% chance is being generous, by the way." she said. "Besides, it's important because you travel to all these cities, yet never bother to go out and actually see them" Robin towed L along with her as she walked to the front door of their suite.

"There are other ways too-"

"It's abysmal that you don't enjoy your surroundings more," Robin scolded, ignoring L's attempt to butt in. "Now put on your shoes, and don't say you won't because I will shove your feet into them myself" Robin stated like a nagging matron, slipping on her own black flats.

L grumbled in his head, not very pleased at all as he tied the ratty sneakers. _With Robin creating the perfect opportunity, Whammy would no doubt force me out; He's always encouraging me to go out more since I've stopped working directly in the field… At least, this way I'm doing it somewhat voluntarily. _L thought, _Besides, there's something… fascinating in the way Robin's learned to read even my tells so remarkably well. Perhaps I can work with her to develop an unreadable expression, after the Kira case of course…_

"Keep in mind, this is not me giving in to your absurd amount of paranoia" Robin stated, slamming a baseball cap on L's unruly hair.

L appraised himself in the foyer mirror, "This is hardly a disguise" he commented dryly.

Robin ignored his disapproval and opened the suite's door, dragging L by the sleeve with her out into the hall. "If you're nice I might even consider picking up sweets for you while we're out" Robin stated as she made sure her key was carefully tucked in her purse.

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel happier about this situation. Besides, I'm not a child that needs permission to buy sweets. …You're stretching out my sleeve" L stated, Robin sighed at him before taking his hand instead and dragging him to the elevator. They escaped the building and Robin expressed a smile at the bright noon sun peaking at them between tall skyscrapers.

Robin led them to the metro entrance, ignoring the swarm of people that clogged the sidewalk. "Where should we go first? A museum?" Robin asked rhetorically, eyeing the route line with interest. "Oh, we could go to Ueno park. The Tokyo national museum is there. And there are shrines, too" Robin stated, looking up at L; who seemed completely agitated by it all.

"I have no preference" L said, as if her words were a question.

"Can you at least pretend you're having fun?" Robin asked.

L stared at her blankly. "But I'm not. If I feigned interest, you would be able to ascertain I was lying anyway" L stated.

"That's not the point" Robin sighed, "You're simply hopeless. Now come on or we'll have to get the next tram" Robin said before pulling him by the hand down into the metro.

Robin seemed fascinated by all the people crowding around the platform waiting for the train. "Oh, look at her" she said to L, tilting her head to subtly indicate a goth-Lolita girl.

L gave Robin a blank stare. "…And why am I looking at her exactly?" he questioned.

"You're no fun. People watching is my favorite game" Robin stated, expressing a small pout.

"How can watching people possibly be fun?" L questioned grumpily. Now, he knew exactly how it _could_ be, but he only held interest in watching exceptional people. Normal passerby were mundane and everyday; if you looked at these people long enough a pattern was sure to emerge, and then L would be able to predict the proceeding events. Watching something after you'd already seen it once was just boring. So, it wasn't actually the act of 'people watching' that was questionable, it was simply Robin's choice in watching people so predictable that alluded him.

Robin scanned the crowd before she locked eyes on a nervous-looking teenage girl avoiding the rest of the crowd as much as possible. "There!" Robin exclaimed quietly, subtlety indicating the girl.

L's eyes landed on her begrudgingly. "Yes, she looks frightened of those around her. Not necessarily unusual"

"You don't look closely enough. What's really fascinating isn't what you see, it's how she reacts. How she sees" Robin said, a small smile working over her face as her words took on a passion. "It's obvious she's nervous about all the people around her. She's so silent in contrast, crumpled up into herself; she's not afraid of the people, but the noise they make. All the noise makes her nervous, not them. It's quiet within her, peaceful. There is no stress, no worries, no troubles. To her, it is strange for the others to be so chaotic when there is nothing inside her except peace" Robin finished and then sighed, seemingly coming back to the conversation after being lost in her analytical capture of the girl.

She turned to face L, "That's what makes her unusual. Don't you wish you could have as much peace as she does?" Robin questioned honestly.

The words left him abashed. "That was very eloquent" L said curtly, instead of agreeing. Yes, there are times when he wished the world didn't weigh so heavily on his own shoulders. Yes, there were even times he wished for peace; and not only for himself, but for everyone. But that was all those thoughts ever were. Wishes.

Robin opens her mouth to say something before jumping as the metro loudly screeched to a stop behind her. They had made the mistake of standing right where the doors were, and the sudden rush of people made Robin freeze up in a quiet panic.

_You're safe, _the voice in her head re-assured her while sounding strangely like her therapist Mr. Fredrick, _They're just strangers. None of them will hurt you. It's okay. Take your time, it's okay to move slow. As long as you move._

L reached out and forcibly gripped her hand as the mass of people around them began to funnel either out or into the metro, nearly dragging Robin with them in her immobile state. L was silent as he guided the two of them through the crowd. It was only when the doors had closed and the two of them were safe onboard, that L fixed her with a taunting smile. As if to say, 'ha-ha, I had to save you'.

"Don't you say a word" Robin stated and looked away from him, pretending to stare out the window into the underground darkness, but closing her eyes tightly instead.

_Why do you still think he's out there? _Robin asked herself. _You saw it, he was burned completely to ash. He can't be out there anymore. He can't be waiting. He can't hurt you. Not anymore. _She finished, taking a deep breath and praying that L wasn't noticing her shaken state. If he thought she was 'pushing herself', there was no doubt L would have her shipped away from the case. And then what Would distract her?

The two of them were thankful when they finally reached the stop and could escape the far-too-close interaction. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Robin asked L rhetorically, putting on her best carefree smile.

"Yes it was" L deadpanned.

"Cheer up already," Robin said, expressing a frown at him before dragging him inside the gates of Ueno park.

The two of them spent the afternoon in the park, going into the museum (Robin was enamored, L hated the modern art and sulked through the Grecian sculptures) as well as a few shrines (L found it boring while Robin was once again entertained by all the people) and even the aquarium (A large flounder followed L around the tanks, however, he was not as amused by it as Robin was).

It was, apparently, especially hilarious to Robin that L was mistaken for a homeless man more than once; whereas it was only annoying and mortifying to the detective. But the real embarrassment came with Robin's nearly constant questioning of locals to take their picture in front of buildings, exhibits, and even the flounder; but he was admittedly pleased with how some of the pictures came out. At the end of it, they were both exhausted from all the walking.

L emphasized the whole ride home on the metro that he '_needed_ sugar now that her exploration had depleted his energy', thus Robin played a good sport and conceded in purchasing a hefty array of candy from a sweet shop they spotted on their walk back to the hotel.

"You two have been gone for an awfully long while" Whammy commented as they trudged through the door at six PM. "Did you have fun sightseeing?" The old man asked, a smile ever present on his features.

Robin slipped off her shoes quickly before striding over to Whammy with her digital camera in hand. "It was fun indeed. We took a lot of pictures, too" Robin said, showing the camera's display to Whammy. The old man's smile grew as she flipped through several of the photographs for him.

"It looks like it was a truly fun outing" Whammy commented as L slipped off his shoes by the door.

Robin expelled a smile. "I quite enjoyed myself, even in L's depressing company. However, I believe I have gotten all the Tokyo sightseeing done that my feet can handle" Robin stated.

"That's good news" L commented through a mouthful of taffy as he strode past the two and through the hallway into the living area, clutching his bag of sweets all the while.

Robin sighed at L's retreating figure. "He is incorrigible, Mr. Whammy" she said to the old man, whose only response was to pat her on the shoulder and smile warmly.

"I finished stocking the kitchen while you were out" he said. "Perhaps a bowl of strawberry ice cream is in order?" Whammy questioned, and she expressed a smile at the fact he remembered her favorite childhood treat.

"Overdue, in fact" she said, and the two of them made their way into the kitchen as a peacefulness settled over Robin. However, she knew that with a life like hers any semblance of peace was only temporary.

**Is this chapter OOC? I certainly hope not, it was a pain to try and get an outing to correlate with L's personality. Thank you all for the reviews and favs! So glad you're enjoying the story so far! -Luv, Cart**


	3. Chapter 3

**Fragaria**

She nearly felt trapped in the tomblike extravagance of the hotel. L's heavy security measures naturally made her feel safe, but at the same time staying in the hotel all day was starting to get to Robin. It gave her too much time to think. That's why, when she observed Whammy gathering his laptop in L's insistent disguise garb, Robin perked up immediately.

"You're off to supervise the task force, aren't you?" Robin asked, her brain already working out some argument to swing Whammy in favor of letting her tag along.

Whammy's disguise prevented Robin from seeing his knowing smile, "Yes of course, why do you ask?" the old man already guessed the answer, judging by Robin's recent moping around the suite's living room.

She sighed lightly, "Well, since we don't have a suspect as of yet, their's hardly anything that L needs me to discuss with him. And I can always finish assembling the profile at the Kira task force headquarters…" Robin trailed off before giving Whammy a smile. "Besides, I'm sure you'd like some company?"

"Absolutely not" came a flat voice behind them and Robin jumped before turning; unsurprised to see L in the doorway with a bowl of jelly beans.

Robin crossed her arms, darkening her expression as she focused on the detective. "I don't recall asking you anything" she stated.

L ignored her 180 attitude change and tossed a handful of the candy into his mouth. "It would be highly irresponsible if I were to let you further smear your face around town, not to mention, its far more secure inside the suite" L said.

"I'd be surrounded by, what's the count now… nearly 40 police officers in the task force?" she shot back.

"Their's no reason that you can't complete your work here" L retorted, shuffling through stacks of paperwork resting on a nearby table.

Robin gave Whammy a fleeting look, but the old man made no move to interject. "I'm not like you, I actually enjoy interacting with people" she said, immediately regretting her borderline-insulting phrasing. Not that she would ever tell L that.

L looked up at her with an expression similar to surprise before he immediately hung his head and hid his face from her view under the guise of hunting for a file in the mess of paperwork. "…A better disguise then a baseball cap is required" he finally said, juggling his bowl of candy as he retrieved a thick file from the stack.

"That can be arranged," Robin said, already striding out of the room to search through her closet for something suitable. As an afterthought, she stopped at the door. "Thank you, L" she said, disappearing into the hall before he could respond.

Whammy watched the display with amusement, turning his eyes to his ward as Robin left the room. "She was a bit brash in explaining herself, but I agree that Robin could use a bit of fresh air" the old man said.

L placed his bowl precariously on a stack of papers. "What would you describe the outing R nearly blackmailed me into?" he asked rhetorically, opening his found file and skimming the contents.

The old man stifled a chuckle, "That was a week ago, you forget she's become accustomed to a normal life. Errands, working, meeting with others; Robin did those things on a daily basis. Such a dramatic change to adhere to your lifestyle might be too much for her. She is in a fragile state, after all" Whammy said.

L turned a page, taking all of the information in the file in as easily as he would a breath. "She assured me that her mental state was well enough not to effect this case in any way, I don't see that portion of your argument as valid" he stated.

The old man stared at his ward for a minute of silence, unsure of how to phrase his following words. "Robin is a strong young woman," Whammy said as he lifted his briefcase from the table, walking past L, "but part of her strength is drawn from vigilance, so that no one may see her weaknesses" with that, the old man left L alone with his thoughts.

**…**

"I feel a bit like Sherlock Holmes" Robin said quietly, mostly so Whammy's responding chuckle would halt the tense silence of the car.

"Yes, I recall Mr. Holmes did make common use of disguises" Whammy said, still chuckling softly as he maneuvered the car towards the Japanese police center where the task force was located.

Robin adjusted the large itchy grey scarf at her neck with displeasure, it had been a necessary purchase when she'd returned to chilly Winchester, but all the same she absolutely despised the garment. _If it weren't for the fact that I know L has a point about this incognito thing, I would rip all this stupid stuff off right now. _She thought; referring to the large dark sunglasses, navy fedora, and oversized navy trench coat that completed her haste disguise.

"Although, I suppose you are more of a Watson to L's Holmes" Whammy said, distracting Robin from her clothing hatred.

She was almost thankful Whammy couldn't see her resulting smile. "I suppose so, I mean, if L actually conceded to the fact that I'm his colleague and not his employee" Robin said.

"Robin, you need not take L's reluctance personally. He has had few collaborations in his time, and none of them personable. He's merely attempting to keep things between the two of you strictly business" Whammy said.

She started at his words, turning her head from the window to look at the old man in surprise. "I… What? You mean, it's harder for him because we grew up together, right?" Robin asked quizzically.

"Ah, yes of course that's what I mean" Whammy's disguise told her nothing to the contrary of his words.

"I believe I will find it hard to remember to call you Watari," Robin said quickly, changing the subject, "may I just call you Mr. W?"

"Of course, speaking of; how ever much distaste you have for it, L has instructed me to address you only as R while we're in the company of the task force" Whammy said.

Robin frowned, but nodded anyway. "I suppose it will be alright. When will we arrive?"

She could heard the smile in the old man's voice as he spoke, "why, right now" he said as they pulled into the back parking lot.

The back entrance was obviously for secretive dignitaries and criminals that would be too high-risk to walk through a crowd, as it was guarded to the teeth. It left no room for a sidewalk, the door into the headquarters barely allowed enough room to open the car doors; preventing any further risk to the transportee by allowing a swift entrance. Whammy turned the car off, but left it on the curb against the doors so the two of them could quickly dash out if conditions began necessary.

The guards at the door let them in without question when the old man flashed an ID; Whammy walking with certainty towards the meeting room and Robin trailing behind. When they entered, through another back door, the conversation in the large conference hall immediately fell silent.

Robin darted her eyes through the crowd; _surprise, suspicious, shock, doubt… _She trailed off in her analyzing thoughts as she surveyed the policeperson's faces. Their collective expressions made her frown, although none of them could see it under her large grey scarf. _Just my presence has made most of them apprehensive towards Mr. Whammy, L seems to be treading on thin ice by keeping so many secrets from them…_

Whammy directed her towards the side, where she happily took a seat at a small desk and retrieved her paperwork from her large tan satchel. Robin had never liked working with computers, much rather preferring her mess of papers and files instead. Even though she knew she should get started on her work right away, Robin was distracted by Whammy's movements.

The old man quickly produced his laptop from his briefcase, setting it on a table against the front wall of the room and typing a few keys before the usual monogrammed L appeared; both on the laptop and the large screen behind it. Which could only mean one thing…

"Good morning, task force" L's synthetic voice greeted in monotonical Japanese, the camera at the top of the laptop coming to life with a red glow. "Today I will be supervising everyone's progress along with Watari, therefore if any leads are found, do not hesitate to make them known" the voice said before continuing in a slightly more upbeat tone; "Everyone, as always, please do your best" and then he fell silent.

The police people of the room paused with uncertainty before moving slowly to start up their computers, shuffle through files, or bleakly pour their morning coffee. With the room budding to life, Robin stood and strode to Whammy, who was hunting through his briefcase next to the L-laptop.

"L hasn't monitored the task force before, has he?" Robin asked in a whisper, hoping that the computer mic wouldn't be able to pick up her voice.

Whammy stopped his meddling and tilted his face toward her. "Not like this, no. But he had a thought that his 'presence' may make the task force's work more efficient" the old man answered.

"Hmm" Robin was unconvinced, but didn't voice her thoughts aloud, returning to the desk instead.

_Is L 'here' to watch over me? _Robin questioned, but quickly shook her head, _No, that sounds so egotistical. But at the same time… _Robin looked up at the L-laptop, annoyed to find that her desk was within the camera's range. Subtly, she turned her head and itched her cheek with one finger; secretly flipping L off in a way that would prevent the task force (and Whammy, since his back was turned) from seeing her gesture.

"This, this proves it" one hushed Japanese voice of a female task force member said to another.

Robin tilted her head slightly as she caught the chatter; the voices were a notch above a whisper and fast, obviously excited yet secretive about the information they'd found. That, more than their exact words, piqued Robin's interest and she made sure to listen without watching the speakers.

"Proves what? I don't understand what it means" the male voice answered, frustrated by the woman's interruption of his own work.

The Japanese was slightly hard to follow, since Robin was so rusty, but she got the jist of the woman's next words. "Kira has been killing within normal time periods so far, leading L to believe Kira was a student"

_Student? L took credit for my assumption? God dammit, did he know how much work it was to correlate the pattern with-_ Robin cut her own angry thought off as the woman continued.

"But this proves that Kira can't be a student" the woman finished.

_I can't be wrong! _Robin's thoughts shot out, _This woman must be an idiot to assume that! What facts could possibly back her up? Because that was simply- _"Impossible!" Robin suddenly said aloud before she slapped a hand over her scarf-covered mouth.

The task force members nearest to her desk stopped working, looking at her curiously, as did Watari when her heard her outburst. "Yes, R, do you have something to say?" L's synthetic voice asked. His voice was hooked up to the loud conference speakers, so now everyone in the room had caught on and was looking at her.

The collective scrutiny sent shocks of nervousness through her, and all she could think was; _Please, please don't spout off any useless facts, _As she adjusted her scarf nervously to make sure it still covered half of her face. Thankfully, the disguise only allowed a view of her eyes and a small portion of her hair; also covering the fact that she was a woman. Robin was already suspicious to the task force, throw in the fact that she was a woman, and many of them might not find her credible in the slightest.

"Her," Robin said quietly, lifting her head and pointing at the woman that she knew was the one dissecting the student theory. "Ask her to explain herself"

She had large dark-brown eyes that nearly blended with her black pupils, and shiny pixie-cut black locks framed her heart-shaped face. In short, the accuser was surprisingly beautiful. The woman went wide-eyed, flushing with embarrassment at being caught in her conversation. "I-I-I, what about myself?" the pixie-cut woman stuttered.

L's voice boomed through the room again. "R means, explain what you were discussing with your colleague there"

"Well, I just…" the woman trailed off, trying to grab her bearings. Robin noted that she had an unusual lack of moxy for a policewoman. "I was going… putting the most recent killing patterns into a data graph, when I realized that the recent patterns made it impossible for Kira to be a student"

Robin stood, pressing her palms flat on the desk with a quiet agitation. "How, how do the patterns compare?" she asked evenly, fixing the woman with a cold stare.

"They… In addition to the normal killing pattern, Kira has been killing a new incarcerated prisoner every hour" the woman said.

Hushed chatter immediately washed over the room, most likely critiquing the fact that an _L theory _might be wrong, but the room quickly fell silent again as Robin interrupted.

"No that's completely contradictory to Kira's existing profile" Robin stated, falling effortlessly into the robotic voice she had used as a child. A voice without inflection, a voice without traceable emotion. "Kira's childish qualities all point to a suspect from the ages 16 to 18, this evidence only points to fact that he's covering his tracks. That, somehow, Kira has gained classified information about this case"

Her words left the room in a shocked silence, as many of the task forced members looked around at others that they thought capable of being-or helping-Kira. This new information made Robin highly uneasy. A possible mole being so close, in that very room, made her stomach turn.

"I'm going to go get some water" Robin said quietly to Whammy as she passed by both him and the L laptop.

Once she was on the other side of the conference room door, Robin nearly ran down the hall before forcing herself to a stop with her heart banging in her chest. "Calm down," she told herself, "none of them have seen your face, none of them even know who you are. You're safe."

"You've never been safe" said a familiar voice from behind her, and Robin whipped around to face him in a white-hot panic.

There was no one there.

But she'd heard his voice clear as day.

_Beyond…_

**A/N: Thanks, once again, for all the favs an reviews guys! -Luv, Cart**


	4. Chapter 4

**Fragaria**

"I don't understand why it's still happening," Robin said blankly into the webcam of her laptop. "I've processed it thoroughly, I understand it's completely irrational to react as if B's somewhere waiting for me... But I can't stop myself."

The man on her screen sighed before fixing her with a sympathetic smile as he put down the pen he was writing with. "This isn't something you can rationalize and push away, Robin. It's trauma. You have to simply work through it," He paused. "How about we try discussing why you feel B is… waiting for you?" Mr. Frederick said.

Robin tiredly ran a hand through her hair before shifting on the small loveseat in her appointed bedroom of the hotel suite. "That's just it, I don't understand. I know he's dead. He burned alive while Misora was saving me" she stated.

Mr. Frederick steeps his hands together, pausing thoughtfully before his answer. "But you didn't actually witness his death?"

"I saw his ashes. I was the one who placed his ashes in his memorial…" Robin trailed off.

"But some part of you isn't sure that the remains are truly B's?"

She can only bring herself to nod, her voice taken over by the paralyzing fear of how real her paranoia sounded aloud.

**…**

Robin is freshly showered, dressed in a black pantsuit and turquoise silk shirt, when she walks into the living area of the suite. It shocks her to find the men crowded around L, and all conversation halts at her sudden presence. It takes her a minute to remember the proper social procedures for such a situation; _say hello, introduce yourself, shake their hands._ The voice in her head told her, once again sounding strangely like instructions from her therapist Mr. Frederick.

"Hello" Robin states blankly in Japanese, carefully raising a brow at L as to why the foreign men were in the hotel suite.

"R, this is the last of the task force" L said, in Japanese, before pouring himself some tea.

Robin sighed without inflection, still standing near the room's entrance. _I had no idea we'd be meeting them in person, especially with L's paranoia regarding strangers… But still, typical L tactic,_ She thought. _Getting left in the dark is no doubt payback for dragging him on the Ueno outing_.

"And when exactly were you going to inform me of their presence?" Robin questioned, in English, staring at each of the men in turn. Now that the typical shock had worn off, their faces mostly portrayed curiosity.

L sipped his tea. "Please sit down" L stated, stubbornly sticking to Japanese. He frowned at his cup and added about a dozen sugar cubes; unconcerned with the frown Robin gave him in lieu of a glare.

She walked to the group and tried not to wobble on her heels. "Ducking my questions as always" Robin directed at L in Japanese before offering a hand to the nearest man in the group. "Robin Steele" She introduced, the older mustachioed man shaking her hand firmly.

"Yagami" he replied, and she repeated the cycle by shaking all the men's hands and receiving their names in return while secretly analyzing them.

Yagami was obviously the father-figured leader, Matsuda was the most eager and friendly of the men, Aizawa the obvious skeptical critic, Mogi reserved but dedicated, Ide guarded and concise, and Ukita emotional but strong.

_It certainly seems like quite a rag-tag group, but if they've been led here they must be adept at their jobs. _Robin thought, _Even so, none of them have proved my trust yet. _After she was through with her greeting and appraisal of the policemen, Robin took a seat on the only available piece of furniture; an armchair similar to L's, that sat across from the detective.

There was a silence before Yagami cleared his throat and spoke up, "I hope you don't think this rude of me, Mrs. Steele, but what is it you do that pertains to the case?" the middle-aged man asked, looking back and forth from her to L.

Robin could read his unguarded facial ticks with ease, it was almost like reading his thoughts, and if she were capable of it she might have laughed out loud at what she found. Instead, she expressed a light amused smile. "Please call me Robin. And I can assure you that the extent of L and I's relationship is entirely professional" Robin stated, and the man immediately looked taken aback.

"I-I apologize, I didn't mean…" Yagami said, then paused in confusion. "How did you…?" he trailed of in bewilderment.

"It's quite alright" Robin stated. "Though my years of training, facial ticks have become part of my expertise as well as other psychological and prosodical skills. I can read all of you like books" she explained, amused as many of the men now tried to guard their emotions with what they knew from their typical police training.

L popped a sugar cube in his mouth. "R has many degrees in psychology as well as experience with criminal cases, and is quite the talk of the medical world" L stated, Robin raising her brows in surprise.

_Is he… complementing me? Speaking highly of me, at least… how odd…_ She thought, her eyes still on the detective as he spoke.

"She is here to develop the psychological profile of Kira, so that we know what to look for when we gain suspects" L finished.

The men nodded in understanding, ogling L with inquisitiveness as he poured himself another cup and doused it with sugar. "I… have a, um, question… L" Matsuda spoke up nervously, breaking the silence.

"Please, refer to me as Ryuzaki for the remainder of this case. Just to be safe" L stated.

Robin tried not to show the cold shiver that went through her as the name was spoken aloud.

Matsuda's nervousness increased. "Then, Ryuzaki, If we now know that Kira is killing with a name and a face, couldn't we start censoring the news and decrease the victims?" Matsuda asked.

"No," L simply responded. "I don't want innocent people to die. I hate to loose as well"

"Huh?" Matsuda asked, confused.

"Allow me to explain," Robin cut in, "Kira is childish; he hates defeat. If we disrupt his attacks, he will aim for more meaningful targets" She explained, then sighed upon seeing by their faces. None of them understood how she'd reached her conclusion.

She cleared her throat. "You see, up until the fake L appeared on TV, we simply assumed Kira was after criminals in a botched attempt to purify society. But after that incident, it was obvious that Kira despised anyone bold enough to oppose him. The following attacks have been concentrated in Japan, as if to say 'haha, so what if I am here, you cant touch me'. Logically, if we tried to use the media to stop his availability of victims, Kira would only compensate with lives more dire and try to turn the public against us" Robin finished.

"That is how Kira's mind works" L backed up flatly. "However, speaking of the media, I believe there is a way we can use it to our advantage"

"For example?" Aizawa prompted.

"How about… 'US furious over death of FBI agents, Kira's antics have angered the whole world.'" L paused. "…'1,500 agents to be sent into Kanto'" L finished.

Robin nodded. "I see, Kira would begin to see everyone as a threat… It would be bound to elicit some type of response from him" she stated.

"A-amazing" A few of the men muttered in unison.

"And instead of the seven here now, since the 1,500 would be fictional, they cant be killed…" Ide exclaimed in awe.

"Well then, I believe it is time to tell you my thoughts on the Kira case" L stated, all of the officers leaning in to listen intently. "R knows Kira works alone, however, I have found out he is somehow accessing police information"

Aizawa spoke up suddenly, "how do you know he works alone?"

"I'll explain later" Robin says, motioning for L to continue.

"Kira needs a name and a face to kill. To a certain degree he can control the victims time of death, or the actions the victim commits beforehand. With all of that in mind," L paused as he retrieved a marker from the tea tray.

L began to write dates directly on the tabletop. "Please listen closely. In the five days between the time FBI agents entered Japan and the time Kira started experimenting with his capabilities to manipulate, Kira became aware of the FBI presence. Since Kira didn't know the faces or names of the agents, he experimented in order to determine how far he could control the deaths of his victims. I believe the killing of the FBI agents on December 27th, and the 23 attacks during that time, directly correlate with each other. Kira used one of the 23 people that committed lesser crimes to somehow find out the FBI agent's names" L stated.

"Before the FBI were murdered, Kira went into a slight drop in victims as he concentrated his focus to draw attention away from himself under investigation. I can only conclude that Kira is once of the individuals investigated by agents between the 14th and the 19th" L finished, leaving most of the task force (save for Robin, who already knew L's findings) in awe. He motioned to a stack of papers on the table. "This is all of the important FBI notes and other information that we can use to confirm my theory"

The excited voice of Matsuda rang out in the room. "This is amazing!" he exclaimed, holding up a few of the papers. "With this much information, our little group can get a lot of things done!"

The other officers were just as eager, "Why don't we split up into two groups? One can trace the FBI agents, and the other can research those who had heart attacks" Mogi suggested.

L seemed slightly ruffled at being interrupted, "So, does anyone have any questions then?" L asked, the team looking up from their momentary excitement.

Yagami cleared his throat. "Yes, Ryuzaki, you said earlier that you hate to loose… but you've shown us your face. Doesn't that mean that you've already lost to Kira?"

L hesitated before answering. "That's right. The fact that I've shown my face, and the fact that I've already sacrificed 12 FBI agents are both losses, but I will win in the end" L said confidently. "This is the first time I have ever put my life on the line, so let us show Kira that we are willing to risk our very lives to defeat him." A wide smile suddenly appeared on L's face, shocking some of the men. "Justice definitely will prevail in this case!" L finished determinedly.

The officers began to look more lighthearted. "That's right!" Matsuda spoke up happily. Similar agreements of "Justice will prevail!" and "Let's do our best!" erupted from the group.

"However," Robin spoke up. "We must first made absolutely certain that Kira is not among us. I would like to talk to each of you individually" she stated, shattering the confident mood.

Everyone blanched. "O-of course" the men agreed and Robin selected Matsuda first for interrogation as they went into the closest room with a door, the kitchen.

L casually stood from the armchair and began to walk towards the window. "Ryuzaki?" A voice enquired behind him, and he turned to see Ukita. "Does this mean that Robin doesn't trust us?" Ukita asked cautiously, trying to gauge L's reaction at asking such a question about his companion.

L shook his head. "No, she's right. If Kira has been taking information from the police this entire time, we could all be placed in exponentially greater danger" L stated before resuming his walk to the glass. He stared out the window and observed the bustling crowded city below him, unmoving as each officer cycled in and out of the kitchen in turn.

Once, the institution had gone on an outing. The streets were certainly less busy, and the roads more snowy, but if L squinted hard enough at the Tokyo street outside the window, he could certainly remember.

**…**

It was only the four of them, the four beginners of Whammy house; Beyond, Adeline, Robin, and of course L. They were going to an art museum, of all things, but Whammy had insisted that well-rounded culture was just as important as well-rounded education. Even if none of them had a particular fondness for art.

"This is stupid," Beyond muttered to Robin and Adeline, staring blankly at a Monet water lily painting.

Adeline gave L a not-so-subtle glance over her shoulder, to make sure L was within earshot. "I agree, I would much rather be studying" Adeline stated proudly, obviously willing for L to speak to her. But, as always, he was staying away from the three both physically and vocally; as if kept there by an invisible force field. _They_ were friends after all, L didn't belong within their circle.

"Don't be so dismissive" Robin spoke up in her dull monotone. "You're missing the point of the entire thing. Whammy wants us to learn. Look at how Monet's brushstrokes are so casual. Up close they are simply blobs, but the further apart you are, the more you can see the whole picture. He must have been a brilliant painter if he knew the effect the strokes would have when he applied them only a foot away from the canvas" she commented.

A short silence overtook the group as all of them stared at the painting.

"An excellent deduction, R. You have such a highlight for detail" L spoke up finally, and all three of them turned to look at him abruptly. Must they always make him feel like such an outsider in his own niche? "The pattern of the paint is parallel to the technique in a criminal's pattern as well. Distance is crucial" L trailed off, wishing for their eyes to be off of him already. Why did he put himself in these situations?

"Doing your work even on vacation, I see" Beyond stated, sneering at L darkly.

Adeline looked close to crying, although it eluded L as to why-It seemed like A was always in some sort of upstart, she was simply an emotional girl-But all it took was Beyond's words holding an unfavorable undertone for L to suddenly feel like he had done something wrong.

Robin tried to put a hand on Adeline's shoulder in comfort, only to have it slapped off as the other girl cried harder. L didn't understand, yet he felt awful for causing A's crying fit. He might have tried to comfort her himself, but… well… At least Robin was trying at all. Beyond was simply standing there with that mocking look on his face.

she turned to him, "For a genius, sometimes you're a right git" Robin muttered to L accusingly. Even though she was unable to display a glare, L was pretty sure that Robin would give him a withering one at the moment if she could.

Beyond lightly pulled Robin's shoulder, turning her away from L. "Don't mind him" he stated, his sneer growing as he looked at L over his shoulder. Effortlessly, Beyond reached down and took Robin's hand in his, giving it a light squeeze as L frowned.

Whammy came back from the ticket desk to find A crying, B and L fighting, and R staring into space. Why did he think this outing would be any different from the house?

**…**

"Well, I'm satisfied" Robin stated, breaking L out of his reverie as she returned from the kitchen with the last task force member that had been questioned. The interrogations had taken hours, and it was nearly three AM.

L watched in the window as her reflection turned to the men gathered around the coffee table piled with papers. "I'm more excited to begin working with you all now that I know L and I can trust you. You can't take the files with you, but we will look forward to seeing all of you bright and determined in the morning. I think this has been enough for tonight, please arrive by eight AM tomorrow" Robin stated.

The men agreed and gathered their things, giving farewells to both her and L as they left one by one. Robin watched them go before making sure the slide lock was off the door so Whammy could get in… Whenever he returned from wherever he was off running errands.

"Hey, L, do you know where Mr. W is tonight?" Robin questioned curiously as she walked back into the living room, unsurprised to see L pouring over the FBI papers already.

He looked up from a sheet of paper, holding it between his fingers gently. "I was under the impression that he was going to take care of some business concerning the institution. He said to expect him late" L explained before turning his focus back to the paperwork.

Robin walked further into the room, sitting beside L on the couch. "I thought we were starting the review of those tomorrow?" she asked, glancing at the large pile of files with distaste. Her entire two years with the LA police department hadn't involved nearly as much paperwork as the Kira case had within the first month.

"Another batch of videoed information I managed to dig up will be here in the morning. I'm eager to get a head start on this before it arrives" L stated, putting down the sheet and picking up another one delicately.

She simply sighed at the man. "You've been awake since we've arrived here. Aren't you worried that you're going to burn yourself out before the case really starts?" Robin questioned.

L shot her a blank look "I don't 'burn out'" He stated, switching out his rapidly-read file for another.

Robin couldn't help but sigh again. For someone two years her senior, he was still as stubborn as a child sometimes. "Fine. Whatever you say. I, however, am going to bed" she said as she got up and stretched. "Oh, and next time the task force arrives, I would like to be notified" Robin said as she walked to the doorway.

"Goodnight" L stated, although his tone was more disinterested than sincere.

She stole a last glance at the slaving detective before shaking her head, "For a genius, sometimes you're a right git" The woman muttered under her breath as she walked into the hall.

Some things never change.

**That memory L recalled probably made no sense unless you've read "The Catalyst", which I encourage you do before you go any further in this story. I've already done as much catching up as I'm going to do; I wont be explaining events and characters that have already been introduced in "The Catalyst". But anyway, I'm so glad that you guys are enjoying it so far! -Luv, Cart**


	5. Chapter 5

**Fragaria**

It wasn't long before Robin jolted upright in bed; sweating, panting, and shivering with fear.

"A nightmare," she said to herself, looking around her hotel room frantically. "Just a nightmare, is all" she was relived to find no obvious threats, although she couldn't put her finger on whatever had frightened her in her dream.

_It's normal for trauma victims to have night terrors; distressing dreams that can't be wholly recalled upon awakening, _Robin thought, trying to calm herself. _I don't need to remember. Chances are it was something involving B, and if that's the case, I don't want to know. I don't want to remember._

Robin shivered at the thought of the man before pushing him back in her mind, suddenly deciding she was hungry instead. It was four in the morning, doubtful anyone would be awake, so she didn't bother putting a robe over the oversized t-shirt and tiny shorts she wore to bed. Everything was empty and quiet as she made her way to the kitchen, careful to turn on only minimal lights, as to not wake anyone up. However, her efforts were in vain when she reached the already-lighted room.

"R," L greeted, looking up from his cake and files when she came in.

She frowned, not wanting to deal with the detective and her own shaken state at the same time. "Stop calling me that. It's Robin" she muttered, heading straight for the fridge.

"What are you doing up so late?" L asked, ignoring her words in favor of his own curiosity. "I thought you were going to bed?"

Robin retrieved a bowl of strawberries from the fridge, "I tried" she shot back, then mentally winced.

_L isn't supposed to know, idiot! If he thinks you're unsuitable, he'd ship you of to Winchester. Or worse, back to LA. _She reminded herself.

"I mean, I must have had too much coffee or something today. I just cant get to sleep" Robin supplied, taking a seat at the table across from L.

He didn't look like he was buying it. "You look disheveled. Perhaps even distressed. Can you please not insult my intelligence by assuming a lie like that would fool me?" nope, he wasn't buying it at all.

"I don't want to talk about it" Robin said, trying not to groan in annoyance and popping a strawberry in her mouth instead.

L gave her a dead stare. "I'm your boss. Sleep deprivation could be detrimental to your work on this case-"

"You're not my boss," Robin cut in grumpily. "Someone I grew up with will never be my damn boss"

"I'm two years older than you, not to mention I don't see you paying for expenses with the money you've worked so hard for. I pay for it, I own it. Therefore, I am your employer" L retorted.

She stood in a huff, "It's none of your business" Robin stated curtly. "It's not going to interfere with my work, so it's not your problem. It's none of your damn business" and with that she stomped out of the room, taking the strawberries with her.

**…**

"There" Robin stated, barely audible, but since she had been silent the entire review her voice caught the men's tired attention right off.

Mogi had paused the tape as soon as she said it. "What is it, R?" L questioned, brow raised at her; sitting beside him on the couch.

Robin slowly got out of her seat, eyes locked on the TV screen as she approached it slowly. "Rewind up until Penbar has the attack, then play it again" she orders, crouching on the floor in her navy blue blazer and dress pants with her face inches from the screen.

Silently, Mogi complies and the occupants of the room seem to hold their breath as they try to see what Robin had. "There," she says again, after Penber has rolled over in agony in the video.

Robin whips her head around to face the rest of the room, surveying their faces and frowning. None of them saw it. "It's his body language, the way he turns is definitely not a reflex spasm of a heart attack" she explains urgently. "If you look closely, you can tell Penber is desperately trying to see inside of the metro. I'm certain of it" Robin finishes.

"Mogi, play it again please" L states as Whammy gives him an ice cream cone.

Robin shuffled out of the way of the screen and back to the couch, sitting beside L as Mogi rewinds the tape. Now that the men knew what they were looking for, looks of comprehension quickly dawn on their faces as the video re-plays. "See?" Robin said.

"You're right, R. This brings new things to light. What is so important on that train?" L asks, a look of deep concentration coming over his features as he licks his ice cream. "Kira… wouldn't be that bold would he?" He mumbled aloud as Whammy begins awarding all the task members their own cones.

Robin paused thoughtfully. "You mean to say, you think Kira was on the train with Penber?" She glances back at the paused screen, at Penber's twisted body. "Yes… Judging by his psych profile so far, it is plausible that Kira would reveal himself as a triumph over his victory. Still, it means bad news" Robin said, a strawberry ice cream cone appearing in her hand.

"Thank you, Mr. W" Robin exclaims and expresses a bright smile at the man for getting her strawberry, instead of the flavor all of the other men had.

L stares at her as she puts the cone to her lips, before he turns to Whammy. "Why is R the only one that gets strawberry?" He enquired, a hint of a pout in his features.

"Because Mr. W knows its my favorite" Robin answers for the old man.

L turns back to her. "But I would rather have strawberry as well" he states, eyeing her treat enviously as she takes a lick from it.

Robin gives him a frown. "You can't, strawberry is only meant for me. It's mine" she says, as if it's the end-all to the argument.

"Technically, all the food in this suite is mine. Since you aren't paying for any of it" L pointed out.

"Technically, you're a spoiled git" Robin shoots back childishly.

Both of them snap to attention as Whammy's double-clap rings out behind them. "Enough bickering. L, you may have strawberry when you are done with your current ice cream. Robin, name calling is not a pleasant trait and neither is being selfish" the old man scolded.

It was when Robin chorused L's monotone "Yes, Sir" that she bothered surveying the faces of the officers in the room.

Looks ranging from bewilderment to amusement peppered the group, and Audrey slunk further into the couch when she realized how infantile she had acted. She had spent nearly all her time away from Whammy's trying to grow up, develop normal social standards, and here she was having some immature argument with L. Although it's not as if she could help it, the detective somehow never failed to bring out the worse in her.

"R, returning to topic, what is it about Kira that you consider to be bad news?" L questioned, sulking as he took a loud slurp of his cone.

Robin kept her gaze on the paused TV in order to keep from giving L a frown. "This latest development means he's losing his inhibitions. Kira is becoming set in his convictions and ideas about justice, and he's not afraid to show pride because of it" she paused, "Kira is getting bolder" Robin said, a cold silence taking over the room which seemed to keep the task force spellbound in place. Their thoughts were no doubt consumed by the threat Kira posed to each of them, as well as many others outside of the task force.

"We need to find out who Penber was investigating" L said, breaking the tension in the room.

Matsuda spoke up eagerly. "I have his file right here!" the man exclaimed, then paused as a frustrated look overcame his face and he shuffled papers around frantically on the nearby table. "I-I mean I had it a minute ago… I think" Matsuda finished forlornly.

L retrieved a folder from the coffee table in front of the couch, holding it delicately in his fingers. "Not to worry, I have the file" he stated.

"Ryuzaki" Whammy spoke up from behind them, sitting at a desk with his laptop open and a phone in his hand.

L turned, "Yes? What is it?"

"Ukita is on his way back from police headquarters and says someone left a phone message for you with the receptionist" Whammy replied as Robin rose her brows in curiosity.

"Give the line to number five and transfer it" L stated before standing and turning to Matsuda. "You can turn on your phone. No, please turn it on." L told the man.

Matsuda looked confused, but preformed the task all the same and jumped when it immediately started ringing. "Hel-" Matsuda began as he answered it, only to be cut off as his phone was rudely snatched from his hand by L.

"Hello, this is Suzuki, head of information department concerning the Kira case" L said, slipping effortlessly into a disguised careless voice. After a few moments, L's eyes widened, facial ticks quickly displaying a glimpse of shock. "Ray Penber's fiancé?" he repeated the caller in surprise. "Naomi Misora… I've heard that somewhere" L stated.

Robin jumped up from the couch, "Misora? The FBI agent that worked on B's case?" she questioned curiously, already at L's side and staring at the phone in order to distract her thoughts from drifting off to the serial killer.

"So that's it, she worked under me on that case and now she's here in Japan…" L muttered, trailing off before narrowing his eyes at the words coming from the other end of the line.

Robin had met Misora through B's actions, during the LABB case not to long ago. "She wants in on the case, doesn't she?" Robin questioned, brows furrowing at the thought.

_She's the one that saved me… _Robin stopped the statement before it went further, squeezing her eyes shut briefly as the nightmarish thought of B came and went,_ It would be nice to have another woman on the case, being around men all the time is tiring… Maybe L will let her join?_

L hung up the phone, carelessly dropping it into Matsuda's hands. "Its not that, Naomi has been missing since Penber died" L stated monotonically, and Robin felt her hope dissipate as she expressed a frown.

"Anyone would be distressed over a death of a fiancé, could it be… suicide?" Aizawa asked aloud.

"No" Robin spoke up firmly. "Misora's personality was very strong willed, she would never give up like that"

"She was an excellent FBI agent, its more likely Naomi would be trying to go after Kira than commit suicide" L agreed before putting a thumb to his lips and pausing thoughtfully. "She was with Penber… could she have found a clue?" L questioned, voicing his thoughts aloud before becoming lost to them in his head.

A long silence overtook the room before L spoke again. "Everyone, from now on we will be focusing our investigation on the individuals Penber had singled out in his reports"

"And those are?" Robin prompted.

"Deputy director general Kitamura's family and detective superintendent Yagami's family" L spoke, looking over his shoulder at Yagami as everyone's eyes turned to the chief. Robin observed the man's features as he gasped; the chief was clearly shocked at L's words.

"I wish to place wiretaps and surveillance cameras in both households" L continued, unabashed by the chief's gaping.

"Surveillance cameras?" Robin questioned, her outrage not clear in her voice but thrumming through her veins instead. "I knew it. You've been planning to slide the rules from the start. That is completely out of the question, L. Its an invasion of privacy, not to menti-" Robin was cut off by Yagami so suddenly that she didn't have time to notice the glare L had shot her when she forgot to use his alias.

"What is the possibility that Kira is among those families?" Yagami asked measurably, a tense silence filling the room as L pondered the question.

"Ten percent" he finally answered, thumb at his mouth. "No, five percent…" he corrected himself.

Robin was confused, L's posture was nothing out of the ordinary (for him) and his face was placid, but she knew he was lying. Something in the way L made sure his eyes met the chief's own head on was a giveaway, _Is it a higher percentage than that? The families both have relations to the police after all, and Kira has to have some kind of 'in' with the police... Is he inverting his percentages again? But why lie, L? _Robin wondered absently.

Most of the task force gasped. "No way, invasion of that magnitude for a possibility that low is far too extreme" Aizawa stated.

"No," Yagami spoke. "L is right. Up until now, we haven't had any suspects. We should look into it, even if it were only a one percent chance" his eyes flicked up from the floor to meet L's with determination, his voice progressively getting louder. "I never thought my family was under suspicion, so in order to prove their innocence I encourage you to place as many cameras as you can inside my home! Don't miss a single corner!" the chief boomed.

"Thank you very much" L stated, looking perfectly calm in the face of the intimidating man's outrage.

"But chief" Matsuda spoke up. "Think about this, don't you have a wife and young daughter?" he questioned.

Robin was surprised to see the older mustachioed man turn to her. "Please, Robin. Being a woman yourself, can you be the one to observe them?" he asked desperately.

Robin's interaction with the task force had been purely professional and filled with a minimal effort to make personal connections, _Yagami would trust me with such a thing? He's hardly seen a proper example of my skills or professionalism, we haven't created any sort of bond, he's definitely seen no examples of my sexual orientation-but still he's trusting me with this? Is it because I know L? Because I have L's trust? If I didn't, would they even value me at all?_ She questioned, shocked at the man's request.

"It isn't possible for her to view them alone, I don't want to risk anyone missing something" L stated, making Yagami scowl at him. "However, if it would make you feel better, the Yagami household's feeds will be for Mine and R's eyes only. You may also check in on our surveillance at intervals if you so desire" L finished, and Yagami seemed to think over the option for a long while before nodding silently.

By his posture and isolation from the rest of the group, Robin could tell it was hard for the chief. She might have said something to the man, if L and Watari hadn't started talking about when to install the equipment and captured her attention instead.

**…**

It was late, the teenage boy just now getting home from school; but still the first Yagami to arrive back at the house. "I'm home!" the brunette called out to the empty house before ascending the stairs. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a handsome face; surely the heartthrob of his senior class.

Robin narrowed her eyes as she focused on the screen. "Hmm, that's Yagami Light correct?" she asked the mustachioed father. Chief Yagami was sitting on one side of her on the couch with L on the other, several TV surveillance screens creating a wall in front of them.

"Yes" Yagami grunted and Robin's eyes focused back on the screen as she followed Light up the stairwell with her gaze.

She narrowed her eyes when she spotted Light hesitate at his door, however, since she had never seen him before she couldn't exactly say what his reaction was with any certainty. _Did he forget something? _She wondered, brows furrowing slightly.

Light tossed his schoolbag on the floor, flopping down on his bed briefly before getting up and going to his closet to switch out of his uniform shirt and jacket. He casually went to the door and squatted down, placing a small piece of paper in the crack before closing it behind himself and leaving the house again.

Yagami gasped. "I never knew he went through such lengths for privacy… Could he have something in his room that he doesn't want anyone else to see?" the man wondered aloud.

L looked unimpressed. "If you keep in mind that he's seventeen, it doesn't seem all that unusual. I also did things like that for no apparent reason" L commented.

Robin raised a brow at him. "you did?"

He ignored her. "Have you ever talked to your son about the case?" L inquired.

"Of course not! I would never share classified information with anyone, even my own son" Yagami exclaimed. "Besides, whenever I have gotten the chance to go home lately I can barely muster up the strength to simply go to bed" the man finished.

Robin felt a pang of sympathy, but wasn't sure how to express it, so she was slightly relived when L spoke up. "I understand" L said simply, somehow putting forth just the amount of emotion to be sincere without being unprofessional in the process.

They fell into silence in the few minutes it took until the door to the Yagami house opened again.

"Big brother!" Sayu called as soon as she stepped inside. "Big brother, I'm home!" she called again, before looking down and realizing his shoes weren't there. "Not here yet?" she questioned aloud before thinking nothing of it and slipping off her shoes. The young girl skipped up the stairs, singing some catchy pop tune and mimicking the movements with her hands as she went.

Robin let herself express a smile to Yagami. "Your daughter is quite the happy girl" she said, the older man smiling himself at her words.

"Yes, she has always been such an uplifting, optimistic daughter" he said with a chuckle as Sayu reached her room, throwing the door open and finishing the song dramatically.

Sayu tossed her back pack on the bed, shutting the door behind her before turning on her radio and booting up her computer. The girl was 15 minutes into doing her homework when Light returned, carrying a package. He stepped in Sayu's room briefly, talking to her about school before retreating to his own room and closing the door behind himself.

Tension crackled in the surveillance room as the teenage boy locked his door.

Suspense hung in the air as Light laid down on the bed, opening the package for the three of them to only anticlimactically find out it was just a slightly-dirty swimsuit magazine.

Robin would have blushed if she could.

"I-I cant believe my well-behaved son is looking at that type of magazine" Yagami stammered, giving Robin a look that was clearly an apology for her having to observe Light's behavior.

"…It's also another normal behavior for a seventeen-year-old" L stated.

Robin fought the urge to tease him. _Oh? Is that another thing you did at that age, too? _"It seems like he's using the magazine as an excuse more than anything. I mean, why not just pick it up on the way home from school? Why deliberately go out again? He paused at first when he opened the door, something might have arose his suspicions…" she commented instead.

L nodded in thoughtful agreement, "It's like he's saying 'the reason I set an intruder indicator is because I have magazines like these'. As if he's playing it off as normal behavior" L stated.

Chief Yagami said nothing, only frowned, and they watched on in silence as Light got up and hid the magazine in an empty book sleeve.

"Light! Dinner!" Sayu called from downstairs before returning to the TV where she was watching a drama movie on cable.

"That's…" Robin started, but stopped short as both of the men turned to her and waited for her to finish her statement.

L's thumb was against his lips. "Did you notice something, R?"

She immediately felt stupid. "No…" she paused, hesitating and thinking of the ways this could come back to bite her later. "I just love that movie Sayu's watching. Hideki Ryuga is really… um, a very talented actor…" she trailed off; thankful that she was incapable of turning red. As Sayu loudly squealed on screen about how cute Hideki was, L's lips curled up in amusement.

The chief coughed to cover a laugh at Robin and stood up from the couch. "Well, I'm confident that you two will treat my family with respect. I'm going to go see if I can help Matsuda shuffle through more of the paperwork" he said before leaving.

"Sayu, turn off that movie and eat your dinner" her mother ordered.

"Mooo~m!" Sayu whined. "This is the best part! Hideki is about to say his dreamy speech and confess his true love!" Hideki painfully stumbled through his lines, his only redeeming feature was looking flawless while doing so.

L's eyes darted to Robin, his amused smile growing. "I had no idea you liked foreign films, R. Or romantic ones at that. But I agree that Hideki is certainly a very talented-"

"Shut up" Robin deadpanned, keeping her focus on the screen to avoid more of the mocking he surely wanted to give her. Instead, L paused for a beat before producing a cell phone and flipping it open.

"Aizawa, are the Kitamura's watching TV now?" he questioned into the receiver, listening for a moment before switching lines and calling Whammy. "Yes, please play the banners now" L said.

"Huh? What?" Sayu remarked. "In response to the Kira murders, the ICPO has decided to dispatch 1,500 investigators from various developed countries to the Kanto region of Japan" she read aloud. "1,500? Wow!" the girl remarked, both Light and his mother turning their attention to her announcement.

Light paused, chewing his food, his expression one of indifference. "The ICPO sure are stupid" he stated, making Robin's eyes narrow at him in concentration.

"Huh?" Sayu remarked, turning to look at her brother.

"If they're going to send them in, why make an announcement? They should let them come in and investigate quietly, FBI investigators have already been killed and they weren't even known to the public. It's obvious this is an overblown attempt to make Kira expose himself. I bet even Kira could spot it as a trick, though" Light commented.

L's thumb flew to his mouth. "Light is very smart" he stated.

"He also strikes me as pompous" Robin stated bluntly before silence resumed between them as they continued watching the screens.

_I don't like him, _Robin thought as she narrowed her eyes at Light eating quietly onscreen, _He's too perfect. Too smart, too plain. And there's something that's… off about him. Some sort of dark aura just hangs around him. I can't put my finger on it, but it's how I felt with B._ Robin stops her thought immediately, clearing her mind from going any further and hastily returning her full attention to the Yagami family instead.

Sayu kept occupied with the TV as her mother cleaned up dinner, the two of them making small talk. Light, the ever-focused model student, ignored them and grabbed a snack before he went upstairs to study.

Robin jumped as she heard the door to the room open behind them, L stayed fixed on the screen as she turned around to see Whammy. "What is it, Mr. W?" Robin asked, knees on the couch cushion to boost her up so she could rest her arms on the back of the couch and look at the old man.

"Two criminals broadcast on tonight's nine o'clock news have just died of heart attacks. A purse snatcher and a car jacker" he informed.

Robin hurriedly turned her head, slipping haphazardly back into her seat as she stared at the monitors. Sayu and her mother were watching TV; but it was a cooking show. Light hadn't even touched his TV, radio, or computer the entire time he was studying.

_Even though he's a model student, isn't it a little too perfect to be studying so strictly? _Robin wondered to herself, disappointed that the leads they had were now shot full of holes.

"Kira needs a face and a name to kill…" L stated from beside her, "Those who haven't watched the news to see the reports, logically cant be Kira… But…"

"But it's odd for Kira to attack criminals of such minor crimes, it's out of his MO entirely. And as soon as they were reported too, as if he was rushed" Robin stated.

"…I think we should arrange a meeting with Light" L said slowly.

**A/N: Hey, thanks for all the reviews and such guys! sorry this chapter is kinda boring, but things will be picking up soon! also, probably more frequent updates from me -Luv, Cart**


	6. Chapter 6

**Fragaria**

"We can only procure one seat in the exams, and consequently only one of us can-"

"Yes, but I don't understand why you get to go" Robin stated, crossing her arms.

Most of the task force was watching the two amusedly over the tips of their papers and coffee cups, pretending to work as the bickering went on between the two young adults.

"I am the _lead_ investigator, besides, you dress in suits. You don't think that would attract attention?" L asked, trying to ignore the woman as he sat down on a plush chair in front of his laptop.

"That may be, but you can't read Light as well as I can. If I could see him in person, then I might be able to ascertain valuable information" Robin argued, leaning over the desk and blocking his access to the keyboard. "And excuse me for wanting to look professional instead of like a slob. I can change clothes, anyway"

"I am not a slob," L stated, a frustrated look crossing his features. "And you only dress professionally in order to force people into taking you seriously" he tried to nudge her out of the way so he could get to the keyboard, but Robin refused. A silence overtook the room as the two simply stared at each other, the task force watching the scene with questionable looks on their faces. "…Are you trying to glare at me again?" L asked after a few minutes.

Robin settled for expressing a frown. "Yes, because you are a completely abhorring human being" she stated bluntly.

"You don't think that's a tad harsh?" An amused look twinkled in L's eye and Robin quickly expressed another frown at the sight of it.

"You don't think commenting on a lady's wardrobe with such disregard for her feeling is 'a tad harsh'?" she asked mockingly.

He held back a smile. "I had no idea you were so sensitive about your attire"

Robin began pulling back her hand in preparation for a slap, "I'll show you who's sensitive-" she cut herself off as the double-clap rang out through the room, both of them immediately snapping to attention.

"Now, now, you two! You think such great minds as yourselves would work harder on figuring out a compromise instead of inciting an argument" Whammy said, striding into the room with a bowl of gummy bears.

"She started it" the ink-haired detective accused bluntly.

Robin gave him a grimace. "I certainly did not, you selfish-"

"Please, you two. I believe a fine solution to this matter is to have Robin accompany me in the car; then she may have her own chance to see young Yagami." Whammy turned to L and gave him a firm look. "That is, assuming that you can goad him to follow you for awhile?" L reluctantly nodded, eyeing the bowl of treats hungrily. Satisfied with his answer, Whammy handed the bowl over to the detective.

"Still, isn't it customary for one to wear formal clothes at the ceremony?" Robin asked curiously.

"Nonsense, no dress code was listed" L said, muffled through his cheeks bulging with gummy bears.

**…**

Robin held the pill bottle with distaste, "I'm not sure I understand, please run it by me again" she said; voice sounding too loud for the, usually bustling with a task force but now empty, living room of the hotel suite.

"Beta blockers are designed to manage cardiac arrhythmias. If you take them, they will decrease the amount of adrenaline in your system and allow you to sleep free of-"

She cut off the detective, "No. I understand that. You forget I'm drug-licensed" Robin stated. "What I don't understand is why you thought it was okay to go behind my back and talk to Mr. Frederick in order to get this prescription" she finished.

L gave her one of his blank, business-like stares. "It was a matter of me being professionally involved. As your employer, it is my responsibility to make sure that you are functioning properly in order to work on this case. Apparently, 'going behind your back' was necessary since it seems you hadn't informed Mr. Frederick of your inability to sleep."

Robin crossed her arms, _What else did he tell Mr. Frederick? What did Mr. Frederick tell him? Has L had access to the results of my therapy all this time? Or has he only been snooping since that night? _The more questions that popped up in her head, the more anger Robin built up.

"You had no right to get involved in this. I can handle it. It's none of your business" Robin said coldly, tossing the pill bottle back at the detective.

"R, this-"

"It's Robin!" she insisted, turning on her heel to walk away.

"Robin, I'm trying to help you" L stated exasperatedly, making her stop in her tracks.

She was genuinely surprised, both at the usage of her full alias and L's actual words, "What?" Robin questioned quietly, slowly turning back to the detective.

_Help? He never shows concern for anyone, never lets anything take his focus if it doesn't have a case number or a high sugar content. L doesn't deal with people, let alone care about them. _Robin stopped herself, _Or… Is that B's impression of L bleeding into my own?_

"I would like you to be as healthy as possible. If you don't take the steps to do that yourself, then I can't help you at all" L said firmly, "Take the pills"

She exhaled a deep breath before complying, lifting the pill bottle from his outstretched hand in silence. "I still think you're incorrigible"

**…**

The entrance ceremony was full of cherry blossoms cascading from the trees, and Robin looked up at them in wonder before surveying all the people gathered outside. She was supposed to stay in the car, but Whammy had gone off to the bathroom, and curiosity had certainly gotten the better of her.

_Ha, and L said I would look out of place in a suit. Everyone is wearing nice clothes, he's the one that will look out of place._ Robin thought, expressing a small smile as she did so. She searched for L, or even Light, but after seeing neither she decided to find the place where the address was being held.

"Um, excuse me," Robin said, stopping a random stranger. "Do you know where the ceremony is taking place?" She asked, the kind woman directing her to the ceremony hall.

Robin slid in the entrance quietly, unnoticed by all the eyes glued to the stage where the ceremony had already started, and stood at the back of the room. _They just called Light, and that means…_

"Likewise, freshman representative, Hideki Ryuga"

Robin nearly stopped breathing at the thought of the handsome idol. _What? But L is supposed to be, no way it's really- _She cut off her own thoughts as a familiar detective took the stage, disheveled as always and wearing his casual shirt and jeans despite of everyone else's formal clothes. Robin stared in shock for a moment, before she sighed in annoyance and shook her head at him. _Stupid git, of course he had to use that name... Trying to get my goat, I bet._

None-the-less, she watched as Light and L gave some corny-sounding speech about life and new beginnings and other such things. After what seemed like an eternity, the ceremony ended and left Robin wishing that she'd just stayed in the car after all; as it was dreadfully boring.

The rush of people when the event ended was expected, and Robin carefully managed to avoid the majority of the crowd while staving off her nervousness at the situation. At first, she headed towards the seats where L and Light had been sitting during the ceremony-had being the key word, since the two had since vanished. The increasing unfamiliarity of the crowd milling around her was starting to make her uneasy, so when the voice spoke, Robin visibly jumped.

"Are you having fun playing detective with him?" the question was casual, lightheartedly spoken with an underlying sneer, but it immediately sent a shock of pure panic down her spine.

Robin wanted to turn around, make it obvious that B wasn't really there-couldn't really be there, but she was frozen with fear. "Beyond" her voice gasped out instead, her mouth going dry.

A chuckle, that familiar chuckle that somehow sounded wrong, assaulted her ears. "How _smart_ you are, Ruby. Has L been helping you hone your skills?" B asked condescendingly.

She felt sick, her stomach turning violently at her own name. "You're not real?" Robin tried to say it firmly, but it came out sounding like a desperate question.

"If I'm not real, then who gave you all those lovely scars?" B said, making Robin's hand fly up to touch her most visible reminder; the scar on her lip from it splitting open during her capture. "Or maybe you mean here, now, am I real right now? Am I really here, or are you just going crazy?" A heavy hand prodded her shoulder, making Robin cringe and somehow finally giving her enough nerve to turn.

Her eyes searched frantically; but there was no disarrayed black mop, no changing red eyes, no unsettling smirk, nothing, nothing, nothing. _But wait_, Robin's brain shot out after the seconds it took her to survey the view on her right side, _that game…_

Robin's head snapped to the left so fast that whiplash would later be a valid concern, but it didn't matter because there; mixing in with the people flowing out of the front door, barely visible between a large lady in a blue pantsuit and a group of animated freshmen, was a flash of red eyes and a grin wearing a tailored black suit.

Her brain was suddenly so full with possible courses of action that the only think Robin could manage was to gape at him. _B's favorite game, tap someone on the shoulder and run away in the opposite direction before they could catch you. _Robin's thoughts reminded her unhelpfully, _"Catch me if you can, catch me if you can"_

Robin broke out into a dangerously unbalanced sprint, locking her eyes on the crowd where she'd seen B last and making a beeline for it on her teetering heels. Her trail led her into the doorway where she carelessly knocked shoulders and pushed people aside before breaking into the outside air; craning her neck as she did so to look for spiky messy hair-until she literally ran smack into someone.

The sense of balance the action required to prevent her from falling wasn't within Robin, if anything her challenges with gravity were furthered by her heels, and she fell backwards hard onto the concrete. The shoot of pain, as well as the sudden remembrance of how she'd run into B in very much the same way at the hotel in LA, sent a sudden burst of panic through her. Thankfully, it was squelched quickly as a voice spoke. A familiar, but very un-B-like voice:

"I apologize, I wasn't really paying attention. Let me help you up" Robin looked up, and was stunned to find the speaker to be the very suspect Light Yagami.

_What a truly perfect twist of fate this is…_ Robin thought, not letting her surprise leak out into her features. Instead, she took the hand offered by the young man and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

"I'm afraid it's more my fault that yours. I can be quite clumsy at times" Robin stated, carefully surveying his features to ascertain what a normal unguarded reaction from him looked like. "You are Yagami-san, correct?" she asked, noting the surprise that dawned on his face. "Don't look so shocked, a lot of people talk about how well you did on the exams-so of course I know who you are. Your speech was lovely, by the way"

"Well, I certainly hope these people aren't saying anything bad about me," Light said suavely. "You heard my speech? Are you a freshman as well?"

_Light doesn't seem flustered at all, it seems that he's quite used to women despite being so academically devoted. But, there's something about him that seems almost… impatient? Like I'm not fit to occupy his time. Does he have somewhere better to be? _Robin wondered, before realizing she'd been silent too long, and opened her mouth to retort.

However, at that exact moment, a shout rang out near the doors.

"Yagami-kun!" a familiar voice said, and Robin turned unsurprised to see L emerging from the crowd. As he approached, the detective's brows rose slightly in surprise. "Robin?" he questioned, although she could tell it was only a mockery of shock.

_He knew I was here, has he been observing us this whole time? Did he see Beyond? _Robin pushed the thought away and silently vowed to remain focused on Light; of all times, she couldn't afford to be distracted now. Living dead haunting her or not.

She let herself express a lighthearted smile, "Ryuga" Robin stated, letting him know that she had caught his alias joke.

"I thought you were waiting for me elsewhere?" L asked, looking indifferent despite the annoyed undertone Robin barely caught in his voice.

"And I thought you said no one would be wearing suits?" Robin shot back.

Light cleared his throat quietly. "Well, I will be seeing you Hideki-san" he said, trying to turn and make his departure when a delicate hand stopped him.

"I would like to apologize for so brutally assaulting you, Yagami. I do hope that I can amend my debt at a later date" Robin said, giving him a coy smile. Emotions flashed across his face only slightly, but Robin could catch them easily.

_Surprise, suspicion, reluctance… Ah, I know L so he doesn't trust me. Which means L has told Light who he is already; and without waiting so I didn't see Light's reaction. How selfish. _Robin thought.

Light gave her a large smile that was no doubt meant for charming women. "In that case, I would love to get your name"

"Robin Sterling" she stated, before jumping at a hand that rested in the middle of her back suddenly.

"My girlfriend," L added, as if it was her title.


	7. Chapter 7

**Fragaria**

She didn't dare look at L, even out of the corner of her eye, because that would betray his statement.

_That-What does he think he's doing? What the hell does saying that accomplish? But, if I deny it, Light could get more suspicious. He might start digging around about who I am… I gave a fake last name, but if he finds out I'm a psychiatrist… He might start hiding his emotions better… My job would be obsolete._

Without showing signs of hesitation, Robin rested her head on L's shoulder as if it was a completely normal occurrence. "No need to tell people that so bluntly, Ryuga. It's not as if Yagami-san was asking me out on a date" she stated.

Light was visibly shocked at the two, but regained his composure as soon as he could. "But I am quite jealous that Hideki-san can manage to get a girl as beautiful as you, Robin" he said flawlessly.

Robin hadn't mastered a laugh as of yet, so she simply gave Light another small smile. "Hah, well I assure you that Ryuga is quite deserving of me"

Whammy's car pulled to the curb right beside the two, and Robin let out an internal sigh of relief. "It was nice to meet you, Yagami-san" L stated as Whammy got out of the classy car and opened the back door.

"No doubt we'll be seeing you around campus" Robin added.

They earned a quiet, "Yes, of course" from the suspect as they slid into the car.

Robin waited until Whammy got in the drivers side and they were pulling away from the curb before she slapped L's hand away from her. "What the bloody hell did you think you were doing? Because none of that was according to plan, Mr. Ryuga" she stated accusingly, further annoyed at the amused smile that sprung up on L's face.

His thumb was between his lips, "I was under the impression that people touch one another intimately while courting" L stated.

In the rear-view mirror, Robin caught Whammy's eyebrows shoot up at L's words, and the old man quickly raised the soundproof divider between the front and back seats. Effectively closing himself out of the ensuing conversation.

Robin paid no heed to Whammy's misguided perception that privacy was necessary for their argument. "That was not intimate-" she started with irritation, but L cut her off.

"Would you have preferred-"

"And courting? What century are you from?" Robin interrupted quickly, not even wanting to know what his finished sentence would be.

"Allow me to amend myself: dating" It seemed like L was far too amused by the argument; a scare smile on his face and his eyes twinkling in contemplation of his next rebuttal.

"You're missing the point entirely. Why on earth did you go through with that crackpot idea?-Which no doubt formed in your mind two seconds after you saw me standing there" Robin said, quickly looking away from him since his current expression only made her feel more infuriated.

"I was rescuing you from the advances of a potential serial killer-"

"What were you looking at, because it certainly wasn't me and Light-"

"Not to mention, this way you can be seen with me on campus without Light being too suspicious of who you are. You can get a good look at his emotional reactions"

Robin stopped, staring at the detective as the wheels turned in her brain. "I swear, if you ever try to kiss me I will end your ability to reproduce" Robin finally muttered, slumping back into the seat in defeat.

**…**

"Frederick, do you believe in god?" Robin asked so suddenly that after their long minutes of silent staring, the therapist on her computer screen startled in surprise.

He straightened his tie with embarrassment, "launching into an unrelated discussion won't distract me from actually continuing your therapy. Despite what you may think, Ryuzaki had your best interests in heart when he came to me asking about your treatme-" Robin interrupted him in haste.

"Please don't call him that," she said with a frown. "And besides, while I do admit I'm more hesitant to tell you anything now that you're in league with him, despite doctor patient confidentiality, I was actually being serious"

Mr. Frederick chose to ignore the jab at his professionalism, "You once stated in a press conference that religion was absurd but wholly necessary for the current average IQ of the population to function" he stated blankly.

Robin sighed, "I meant what I said, but what if there really are spiritual powers at work in our world? It would explain numerous things; ghosts, mythical stories, fateful events, death, resurrections…"

"What is this about?" Mr. Fredrick asked with a seriousness so intense it was almost frightening.

"Nothing," Robin said firmly, "and our session is up anyway"

**…**

The day was mildly hot, but Robin had thankfully dressed in a casual pink striped tank top and jean shorts. L had given Whammy a message for her to meet both him and Light at the tennis courts; that L had executed a plan that would work perfectly. So, even if she was rather reluctant to leave the safety of the hotel because of recent walking dead, Robin had been curious enough to follow orders.

"Ryuga!" she exclaimed when her eyes locked on the familiar haphazard hair from a few yards away; even though she couldn't yell the alias to get his attention.

The two boys were crowded around one of the benches inside the tennis court picking up their rackets, and she hurried closer quickly to greet them before they started. Light was dressed in a proper tennis outfit, but Robin couldn't help but smile when she spotted L wearing his typical shirt and jeans combo.

"You don't think you'll have a tough time playing in jeans?" Robin questioned from the other side of the fence, letting out a smile when she made the two boys jump.

L's eyes flicked over her entirety before he put his thumb between his lips. "Have you come to cheer me on, love?" he asked, his large wide eyes suddenly making her feel like she should have put more clothes on.

The term of endearment shocked her only briefly, "Of course, although I hope you don't beat Light too easily. I would like to see an interesting game" Robin said with a smile, her words making L shoot Light a smirk.

"Well you don't have to worry about that, I'm pretty skilled at tennis" Light said with a polite smile, although Robin could tell he was hurting at the dig to his pride. "It's probably me that should go easy on you, Ryuga"

L gave Light a competitive smile. "I doubt that. I was once the junior British champion" the detective said.

"Now boys, this is just a friendly game after all" Robin said lightheartedly before turning her gaze solely to L. "But you, come here, I have something to tell you for good luck"

L raised a brow at her, but smiled and held his ear close to the fence. "I do have to give you praise for this plan, but it can hardly prove that Light is Kira. I don't understand-" She spoke hurriedly in a whispered tone until L pulled away from her.

"Don't worry, love, I'll do my best. You must remember, I hate to loose" L stated, a smile on his face although his eyes were serious.

_Hate to loose? _Robin repeated in her head, _Kira… Hates to loose. Oh, I see it now. _She came back from her thoughts with a grin.

"Well, in that case I best be grabbing a seat then. Good luck, both of you!" Robin said before scuttling away and finding a nice shady spot under a tree on the hill to watch.

L served first, slicing the ball through the air in a highly impressive manner that bypassed Light immediately. "Hey, hey, getting serious right from the start?" Light called out in a friendly tone, although Robin could tell he was a little shaken.

For the rest of the game, the two played with vigor. As if fighting each other on a battlefield, they were fiercely competing; the ball rocketing between their rackets and drawing a curious crowd. Robin had to move from her spot and stand against the fence just to see the boys over the people that had gathered to watch.

"Who are these guys, are they really amateurs?" a guy with sunglasses beside her asked in disbelief.

"They're Light Yagami and Ryuga Hideki; the two top entrance scores this year" another answered.

Robin wanted to grin in pride for having known the two geniuses identities right from the start, but held back in the conversation and tried to immerse herself in the game instead; it was at four games out of six when another sudden voice caught her attention again.

"Hey, but what about Hideki?" A small girl with a bowl cut and glasses exclaimed. "He's holding his own with a junior champion! He's so remarkable! And handsome, too!" she squealed.

The words seemed to come out of Robin's mouth of their own accord. "Ryuga is my boyfriend," the whole group that had been talking were now staring at her, "And he was also a junior champion once" Robin added in haste.

_Why would I suddenly say-That's not even true. We're not even dating for real, and yet… I got jealous. _Robin thought, _Maybe I should think about a career in acting._

"What, really?" A brunette haired girl next to the mousey girl asked. "Why would you date a guy like that? I mean, sure you're a little pale and you've kinda got that ice queen thing going on; but a lot of guys dig that. You could do much better"

Robin had never been one for fighting, but something made her turn on the girl. "And where is your boyfriend exactly? Surely he must be a god of a specimen, to grant you the ability to judge other people's inferior relationships" Robin said coldly, ignoring the shouts behind her that must have signaled the ending of the game.

The girl opened and closed her mouth like a fish, "I'm… sorry?" she squeaked, going white at Robin's attack.

"Come on then, where is he?" Robin asked, "Oh, wait, I see. You don't have one, do you?"

"No… I… Look, I was just giving you a compliment" the brunette stated, floundering as she tried to achieve some sort of coherent speech to gain superiority over Robin.

Robin gave her a condescending polite smile. "I understand now, you think you're so qualified because you've had experience with multitudes of men. Surely that's how you've gained your expertise. I am curious as to how fast the rate is that you go from one to the other, in order to acquire that much information at such a young stage of life"

"Leave her alone!" the mousey girl spoke up again, grabbing her friends arm and beginning to lead her away.

The brunette was flustered and obviously embarrassed, "I hope you have fun with your ice queen, Hideki!" the girl called. Robin's blood ran cold as she turned, both L and Light standing behind her with nearly identical displays of half-hidden shock.

"That was certainly cold" L stated bluntly. "What did she say in order to warrant such a reaction from you?" he asked curiously, his thumb once again trapped between his lips.

Robin was thankful she couldn't blush, but still firmly planted her eyes on the ground with embarrassment. _Just how much did they hear?_ "She was making fun of you" Robin muttered, wanting to be anywhere except under L's scrutinizing gaze.

Silence coated them for a moment, Robin felt frozen until an arm casually wrapped around her waist and she looked up with surprise to see that it was L. "Now that you've defended my honor, will you be dueling others on a regular basis?" he asked jokingly, his amusement showing clearly in his features.

"Don't be such a twat" Robin said huffily, but gave him a grin all the same.

"…I hate to interrupt, but I've got to take my leave now, so-" Light began, but L cut him off.

"Nonsense, the winner can surely join us at the café for a celebratory snack?"

**…**

It was hard to create a mood that was anything but peaceful within the cherry blossom-lined path, but without fail, L had caused everything to crackle with tension by just one statement.

"Yagami, I suspect that you are Kira" L stated nonchalantly as Robin sharply turned her head to survey Light, who was flanking her right side.

_Not surprised, _she thought, _Light's not surprised at all. He's calm, collected… He's prepared for this._

Light theatrically paused before letting out a fake laugh, "I'm Kira?" he asked, "That's not a very funny joke. What a thing to say in front of your girlfriend…" Light trailed off as his gaze wandered over to Robin; immediately catching her intense, concentrated stare in his direction. It didn't make him start in the slightest, a woman like that 'dating' a man claiming to be L had to be some sort of agent, but the expression on her face was certainly formidable.

_Nervous. _Robin had to fight a grin, _I've gone and made Kira nervous. Now, let's see if I don't make him shake in his boots by the end of this…_

Robin expressed a small smile, without dropping her concentration from his features. "Nonsense. You don't think I know who _Ryuga_ is?" she asked, putting a heavy inflection on the detective's alias.

L was smirking at Light now. "Besides, it's only a small percentage that you're truly Kira. Although, you are quite smart. Once you're proven innocent, it would certainly be helpful to have you join the investigation" L said casually.

"I'm glad you think so," Light said, it sounded honest for once, "But I have just one question… How can I trust either of you? I have no idea if you're truly L, and as for Robin… I don't even know who you really are" he said.

Her smile was dripping with sweetness, "You don't need too" Robin said.

_Even though he's already watching himself around L, and me in relation, Light can't know I'm a psychiatrist. _Robin rationalized, _Then he would try looking up techniques, gaining expertise about hiding his reactions. And I can't let him do that. Everything fits with him, even my gut tells me he's Kira. I can't jeopardize that in any way. For now, I'll just let him think whatever he likes._

"As far as you're concerned, Robin will just be the third wheel to our conversation" L said, "and our conversation should be all the proof you'll need to verify myself"

The rest of the walk to the café was tense; none of them spoke, and furtive glances were exchanged as frequently as those of paranoid schizophrenics. Somehow, it was a relief just to be seated when they observed each other. L and Robin watching every muscle and blink in Light's face just as closely as he watched theirs.


	8. Chapter 8

"This coffee shop is one of my favorite spots," Light said, casually still playing the cordial role. "This booth is very private too, so no one will overhear us… or notice how your sitting" he finished.

Under his façade Robin could tell L's usual crouching position annoyed the Kira suspect; but made him curious of L's eccentricities as well. _Almost an amusement in observing others, _Robin thought, _but wait, before he found out I was connected to L he acted as if I wasn't really worth his time. So maybe he's only taking a keen interest because he's intrigued by L as an opponent? No, that's a bias conclusion, the majority of normal people would be curious of L's oddness if they met him. But that doesn't explain Light's attitude change towards me once he found out I was with L… Maybe Light only takes the time for people with high intellect? _

L's thumb was in his mouth, his wide eyes firmly fixed on Light. "I have to sit like this" L explained, "if I sit normally, my reasoning skills drop by forty percent"

Robin let herself smirk internally, but couldn't help the "Bullshit" that escaped from her mouth in a mutter when she lifted her coffee cup to her lips.

"Pardon?" L asked, his hollow eyes blankly transmitting a now-is-not-the-time vibe that Robin expressed a frown upon observing.

"Nothing" Robin chirped at him before directing her attention back to Light. "Anyway, didn't you say earlier that you had a question?"

"oh, yeah," Light said with a polite smile that one gives to particularly bratty children they've been ordered to tolerate. "I just wanted to tell Ryuga that I can't wait until you're sure I'm not Kira, that's all. We can talk about whatever you'd like now, Ryuga"

She was unquestionably insulted by Light's indirectly obvious attempt to shut her out of the conversation, but Robin managed to hold it together as L retrieved the pre-determined 'deduction test' from his back pocket. As L explained the notes left by the criminals believed to be controlled by Kira, Robin prepared to soak in the entirety of Light's reaction.

_Unsurprised… _Robin thought as she read Light's first reaction, _He's not even shaken by the fact that L chose this as his test? Light certainly seems like he's not really shocked by anything so far... Unless, he's seen the notes before? Although he does appear to be actually analyzing them, or perhaps he's just thinking deeply about how to word his answer while moving his eyes along the lines? Augh, nothing's conclusive in his expression! _She let a frustrated frown grace her features.

"It's strange, these lead me to believe Kira can not only control his victim's times of death, but also their actions. Their's a message encoded in these notes, taunting you. If you look at each of the letters in the top line in order, it reads 'L, do you know? Shinigami only eat apples'-or, at least that's the only way to arrange it for the message to make sense. However, the numbers on the back of the cards say to arrange it in the way 'L, do you know? Shinigami who only eat apples'; which just seems wrong to me." Light finished, obviously smugly pleased with his conclusion under the overlay of his casual appearance.

"Incorrect" L stated, and Robin could have laughed at the slack jawed expression Light returned. "There is a forth note, which completes the message as 'L, do you know? Shinigami who only eat apples have red hands"

Light's expression turned hard for a split second before he effortlessly wiped it from his face in favor of his friendly act. "But, even so, my deduction was perfect with the three notes you provided me, right?"

"No," L said, "despite noting the numbering system on the back, you immediately concluded there were only three notes and didn't press the existence of a forth"

_He's trying to remain collected, but that flash of that stony expression was no doubt anger, _Robin concluded as the conversation lulled with Light staring at L, _Is he upset because L is wreaking the message he left as Kira; or is he upset because L's made him look like a fool? Whichever, he's going to try and brush off the dent in his ego…_

Light have a short laugh, "I hadn't thought that far, but whatever the case it's not a message that will lead to Kira. Shinigami don't exist" he said dismissively.

"Well then, if you were me, how would you check if someone was Kira?" L asked.

"I would get them to say something that only Kira would know, something that wasn't publicly known. In other words, what you were trying to do just now" Light answered.

Robin smiled, "It's amazing that your brain immediately jumped to a scenario in which the pursuer was talking directly to Kira…" she stated, enjoying the resulting flash of unease in Light's eyes.

_We haven't cornered him, but he knows we're dangerously smart, just like him. The question is, why play such a golden boy act if L truly does keep upsetting him? He's trying to be too perfect, and that's really what's suspicious here… _Robin let the thought trail off as L spoke.

"It does make you seem suspicious. 3% more, to be precise" L commented.

A waitress walking by the table halted their conversation momentarily, the three of them staring at her as she passed, but for Robin the contents of her tray were much more interesting than the interruption itself. _Jam, _Robin thought as she gulped; the thoughts of only one person surfacing in her mind, _strawberry jam, with nothing else. No utensils even. It couldn't possibly be him? Here? I know-I thought, I thought I saw him in the ceremony, and if I get a good look now…_

"Excuse me," Robin said to the boys abruptly, scooting out of the booth and leaving L's side despite what she knew must be bewildered looks from both of them as she followed the waitress around the corner.

Robin came around the corner just in time to spot the waitress setting the jar at another booth; just barely visible spiky black hair peeking out from the top of the large seat. _I've seen him in the police station, in the ceremony hall, is it possible that B's following me? No, his ghost, he cant really be-No! Ghost sounds even more ridiculous… _Robin trailed off in her thoughts, focusing on the pale spindly fingers that entwined the jam jar before lifting it up. With a sudden rush of determination, Robin lurched forwards and slammed her hands on the tabletop; meeting the holder of the jam jar head on-Only to find a startled punk kid staring back at her, in the process of pouring jam on top of his toast and eggs.

"Can I… help you…?" He stuttered out awkwardly as Robin stared at his hair. She just now noticed that it's held up with hair gel and not in the Einstein-esque defying-gravity quality that both B and L's hair share.

"No, we apologize for disturbing you" Robin turned sharply at the voice, faced with a wholly composed L. She couldn't tell if he's confused or embarrassed by her actions that he'd evidently witnessed most of and that, more than his presumable demanded explanation that would come later, made Robin suddenly nervous.

L took hold of her forearm without question, towing her towards the entrance of the café. "I-When… I just…" Robin sputtered, but he hushed her quickly before leading her through the door and into Whammy's already waiting car. "What's going on?" she questioned after spotting a seemingly worried but mostly confused Light already occupying a seat.

"My father's had a heart attack" Light said solemnly, his words leaving Robin utterly shocked. In confusion, she looks wide-eyed from Light to L; who doesn't meet her eyes since he's staring distractedly out the window in deep thought.

_Kira? But would Light be so heartless as to… try to kill his own father? _Robin thought, _Maybe Light is more serious than I thought. Maybe he'd do anything-well, that was evident when he started killing those trying to stop him, but his own family? Willing to do that is definitely more serious. _The ride to the hospital was filled with a tense silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts for once instead of passing back and forth paranoid glances.

Robin bit her lip, ignoring the slight tremor of pain it sent through her scar, and focused her eyes on Mr. and Ms. Yagami, his wife now clasping the chief's hand worriedly. Ms. Yagami had been intently and quietly talking to her husband before the three of them had even reached the hospital room, every few minutes she shot L and Robin curious glances. Obviously feeling the pressure of L's gaze, Ms. Yagami finally stood and left with the promise to visit her husband again tomorrow.

As soon as the woman stepped out of the room, Light spoke "You're sure it's just fatigue, right?" he questioned worriedly, although Robin didn't bother to analyze the truth of his summoned emotion; instead choosing to awkwardly shuffle her feet from where she stood beside L's chair. The familiarity of the too-clean room and the smell of antiseptic was sending her uncomfortable memories of her recovery period in LA; which sent her even more unbearable memories of B.

"Yes, but when I collapsed I did think it was Kira…" the chief trailed off. "I admit I have been pushing myself pretty hard lately" he finished solemnly.

"Especially since your son's been suspected of being Kira" L put in.

Light's head snapped to face the detective in composed outrage, "You told my father?"

"Yes, of course." L stated, "I've told him everything, even that I am L"

Light looked back to his father in surprise, "Yes, he's the real L" the chief confirmed.

Light's jaw hung slack for a few seconds before his entire expression hardened into one of deep thought, an expression that Robin might have found suspicious if she had been watching; at the moment, she was far to busy with her thoughts. _Why am I thinking about LA now? I can't get distracted by that, especially when I'm around Light. Even if… Even if B is out there somehow. How am I going to explain to L about the coffee shop in a way that doesn't make me sound like I'm going insane? Their's no way he'd believe that I actually saw… would he? No, no, no time for that now! I need to focus!_

She was forced from her thoughts as Light suddenly broke the silence of the room, "Well then, since my dad's vouched that you're L, I'll help you with this investigation, Ryuga. I'll catch Kira and prove to you that I'm not him" Light finally spoke.

"Light," the chief said weakly, "You'll have to study to enter the police force, you should focus on that first and then you can join the investigation afterwards" he said.

"Dad!" Light exclaimed indignantly, "what are you talking about? This is the investigation of the century! Who knows how long school could take…" he paused "besides, don't you remember what I promised? That if something happened to you, I'd be the one to get Kira executed" he finished, his voice making Robin's blood run cold.

She narrowed her eyes at the teenager beside her, _Light… If this is an act, it's too corny, even for you. The friendly airs you take up around L and I may not be suspicious enough, but going on about your father when it's clear you were interested in this case much earlier than now? You can't say you're joining the team by becoming emotionally involved in this case. Suiting your father's attack to your own needs… That's definitely cold and calculated. _Robin concluded, changing her face to a blank expression as she focused on the chief as he spoke.

"Light, The fact of the matter is that Kira is evil," the chief said, "but lately I've been thinking about it like this; the real evil is the power to kill people. People who have that power are definitely unlucky, and no matter how you use it, no happiness can come from ending another's life. Please don't speak of it so vengefully"

"He's right," L spoke up monotonically, while giving Light a sidelong stare, "Kira's power to kill people is definitely unlucky, death is not something to look upon as a good thing. So matter whom it concerns" As he finished speaking, the room feel into silence.

"Ryuzaki, I'm sorry for being such trouble anyway" the chief said after the terse silence. "I'll try to recover quickly"

Before L could retort, a nurse stepped into the room to inform them visiting hours were over, and they were forced rather hastily to say their goodbyes. Leaving the hospital left Robin feeling considerably more stable, but it did nothing to quell the weight of her thoughts; what with B's strange appearance, analyzing Light's reactions, and comparing those reactions to the Kira criminal profile-Robin was beginning to feel exhausted.

"Ryuga," both L and Robin halted from entering Whammy's car at Light's voice. "is there anything I can to do convince you that I'm not Kira?" the teenager questioned.

"If you weren't Kira, you wouldn't have to worry about it-"

"Stop it!" Light abruptly cut him off, "Come on, imagine how it feels to be accused of being Kira!" His sudden outrage surprised Robin, but none-the-less she furrowed her brows as she eyed Light critically.

"It feels awful" L admitted.

"How about watching me in a place without even TV for a month?" Light suggested.

"I can't do anything that would deprive you of basic human rights, and furthermore it's idiotic to take suggestions from the suspect" L said.

"I see…" Light said in defeat as Whammy got out and opened the door for L.

"In time, we will prove you guilty or innocent" L assured as Robin slid in the seat, L following soon after.

As soon as the car door shut soundly behind them, Robin breathed a sigh of relief and curled up on the seat; thankful to not worry about wrinkling her suit since she was still in her casual clothes from the morning. _God, I'm exhausted. Maybe if I just close my eyes for a minute-_

"Now then, care to explain your running off in the café?" L suddenly spoke up, and Robin internally winced at the question that she knew had been long since coming.

"No, not really" Robin supplied blandly, shifting so that she could stare mindlessly out the window.

"You were distracted in the hospital room as well, you didn't say a word" L said.

Robin let out a long sigh, "Just drop it okay? I obvious-" she stopped herself in the middle of her sentence, her face going blank and muscles contracting in blind fear as she stared. The car seemed to move past the pedestrian in slow motion, and she got full-view of the B-look-alike walking down the sidewalk towards the hospital entrance. That is, everything but his face since the man was wearing a hooded jacket, but still he displayed faded jeans, inky black spiky hair, and a familiar body posture. As The car zoomed away from the man and Robin turned her head to gape at his back, she also became aware of L's voice.

"R!" L demanded, evidently not for the first time, as she turned to face him. "I fear you're becoming seriously unwell. You can't focus, you took out a heavy frustration on a woman this morning, your sleeping patterns, and Frederick has told me about your recent religious developments"

Robin felt a sudden wave of anger overtake her. "Oh for the love of-I'm not distracted, I'm just thinking! And if you heard the nasty things she said to me, you'd have done the same! I'm fine!" she exclaimed, wishing more than anything that she could scream it at him, "And stop using my therapist to spy on me! You have no right, L!" As the car came to a stop at a light, Robin angrily swung the door open and got out. "I'm walking!" she declared before slamming the door in L's face and heading off down the sidewalk.

She couldn't help but see the point to L's words, even if talking about her with Mr. Frederick was a gross overstepping of her boundaries, it was evident she was getting a bit sidetracked from the case. _That argument with the girl really has nothing to do with it, although maybe I was a bit defensive for no reason… but heightened emotional reactions are normal for victims. It's true that an outburst that cruel was a bit extreme for a person like me, but still. As far as the nightmares, that's normal as well, and definitely not distracting when I'm working. But, the focusing. The thinking about B. B's appearances themselves… maybe I should tell L? _At that thought Robin immediately shook her head. _No, I should at least figure out more about it before I tell him. It could be a hallucination, which would certainly warrant him to take me off the case, but I don't think… B seems so real. Why tell L when I don't have any proof one way or the other? _Robin came to a stop at a pedestrian crossing.

"I like it much better when you don't wear suits" she jumped at the voice, and then turned her head sharply to the left, where a snaky grin and red eyes assaulted her.

Eyes going wide, Robin froze up for a minute. "B-b-but I just saw you. At the hospital" there was nowhere to run, a thick crowd of Tokyo commuters tightly clogged the sidewalk around them.

He raised his eyebrows, grin deepening, "You really are going crazy then" he chuckled, the noise making her cringe, "what a pity, you just couldn't go insane when I was alive, could you?"

Robin paled, "N-n-no, you're lying. This is fucking insane" she wheezed before squeezing her eyes shut. "You're not real, you're dead. B is dead. B is dead. B is dead. I'm going to open my eye's and you'll be gone. Not real, not real-" a hand grabbed her shoulder and Robin started violently, fist blindly shooting out and connecting with soft tissue. She flailed momentarily in the car seat before her panic stopped and she looked around at the inside of Whammy's car in confusion. An annoyed but pained moan sounded in front of her and Robin embarrassingly focused on L; with a heavily bleeding nose.

"Oh god, I'm sorry" Robin said quickly, guiltily observing L press a hand to the wound as he slightly tilted his head back. While she was relived it had all been a dream-a nightmare collection of her worst fears-waking up to find she'd punched L soundly enough to draw blood made her wish she'd just stayed asleep.

"I bried waking dew up by calling dour name first, Whabby albready wen' inside" L said, his nose making his voice come out oddly.

He moved aside, letting Robin slide out of the car and shut the door before worriedly staring at the blood gushing from underneath his hand. "I'll clean it up for you, come on" she said, taking his free hand and towing him inside the hotel as quick as she could. "I'm so, so sorry!" she repeated as they stepped in the elevator, accompanied by odd looks from the other hotel guests and employees as they went. L said nothing in return, only solemnly watched her with his large grey eyes squinted slightly in pain.

When they made it to the hotel suite's door, Robin jammed in her key and hurriedly sidestepped Whammy with a muttered explanation as she continued to drag L with her down the hall. She threw open the bathroom door and practically shoved him on the counter before raiding the cabinets for medical supplies.

"Good news is it stopped bleeding" Robin stated in what she hoped was an apologetic tone, gently dabbing away the blood with a wet washcloth. "I'm really sorry" she added again for good measure.

She made the mistake of locking eyes with L's critical gaze, but quickly looked away as he started to speak, "In the car, were you having a nightmare?" he asked carefully, gently trying to ease her into a conversation in order to upset her the least.

Robin gulped, "Yes" she said quietly, trying to focus on cleaning up the rest of the blood instead of how she was so easily telling him the truth.

"Was it about B?" L questioned, and Robin felt her body tighten with involuntary fear.

"The USA has 75% of the worlds serial killers" it was a weak reply, one of her nervous spouts of statistics.

L took the washcloth from her, forcing her to stop her caretaking and stand awkwardly in front of him with her eyes firmly placed on the floor. "You said his name. You kept saying 'B is dead.'" L said.

It was impossible to meet his eyes now, her hands were even shaking. "26% of killers start in their teens," she blurted, biting her lip immediately after the words left her mouth.

"R, I know you thought that boy in the coffee shop was B" L said gently.

She squeezed her eyes shut, "cruelty to animals is the most crucial indicator of a budding serial killer"

"Has that happened before?"

"organized serial killers typically personalize themselves with the victim"

"tell me"

"organized serial killers are highly interested in their crime, and may-"

"R"

"Take interest in the police investigation. The killer will not be involved further with the victim's-"

"R"

"Body after death, but is typically aware of evidence left behind and-" His hand is suddenly over her mouth, making her eyes shoot open in panic. As if some memory only her muscles hold, the scars B left her begin to ache, her chest contracts with a shockwave of fear, and the shaking spreads throughout her small frame.

"Robin" L says quietly, and her eyes focus on his. Somehow, it's calming. Somehow, the grey feels soothing. Somehow, she can breathe again.

Then she jerks away from him and stumbles out of the bathroom.

**…**

Robin flicks her bedroom lamp switch on, then off, then on again. "I saw him" she stated aloud to herself before repeating more determinedly, "In the flesh. Alive" she stares at the lamp cord in her hand, hesitating upon pulling it to switch it on.

_Dark, light. Death, life. Off, on. _A thought turns in her brain, a frustrating almost-grasp of something just out of reach to complete her puzzle. _There are two possibilities; B either faked his death, or… somehow… _Robin is suddenly reminded of the night A died, and of B's mysterious prediction of her death. He seemed to know it right down to the second.

Robin shook her head, _But something like that would be impossible. I would be succumbing to the notion of the supernatural's existence. And that would be ridiculous. _She paused, _but suppose, B found out some kind of equation? A formula? If, using that, he could predict the time of people's deaths… That could be plausible in A's case if he predicted the cracking point of her instability. But B, he died of an unnatural event; how could you predict that? A natural cause of death may have been easy for him to predict, but not that… What if he intended to die, but didn't?_

**A/N: Late-ish update! Sorry, I've been pretty busy lately. But, thank you all for the reviews and favs! And for those that fav without reviewing, don't be shy! Tell me what you think! -Luv, Cart**


	9. Chapter 9

Part of Robin felt hopeful, but the majority of her brain was scolding her for the immeasurably stupid idea that had led her to currently stand on the busy side street, clutching her navy trench coat tightly around herself.

L and the task force had decided to focus on Misora's disappearance for the moment; and the further the discussion delved that morning, the more unease about the LABB case Robin built up. Under the guise of errands and the promise to utilize the disguise she accompanied Whammy to the police station in, Robin had left the hotel. She had taken a cab directly to the largest part of the shopping district, the only place where she could hope to find the item she was looking for; and now she was standing in front of a small shop. Sandwiched between a tourist trap and a greasy family restaurant, was the shop that matched the address hastily scratched on the scrap of paper in her coat pocket.

"This is completely idiotic," she muttered to herself as she eyed the peeling paint, overpriced items advertised in the window, and the overall junky appearance of the shop. "I should turn around and just go buy a new sweater or something" and her mind tells her to do just that, but her body slouches forwards into the aged shop marked by the Japanese words 'Dragon's Eye Occult' accompanied by the confusing English sign 'Occult witch scary here'.

The inside of the shop is dirtier than the outside, but somehow the stacks and bunches of odds and ends nearly falling off the shelves give off an odd sense of organization. Robin adjusted her large sunglasses with unease at the mythical clutter, the few unexplainable supernatural stories she had crossed in her lifetime did admittedly made her stomach turn; and the possibilities the debris of the shop held made her let off a shiver.

Since her research had only led her to a book title, and consequently the Dragon's Eye shop being rumored to stock it, Robin wasn't exactly sure how to go about looking in the unfamiliar surroundings and searched for the register counter instead. But of course it was vacant and, like the majority of the shop, displayed a layer of dust as if it hadn't been used in years. There was neither a bell to ring or a sign for further instructions, so Robin opened her mouth with uncertainty.

"Hello?" it was far from a yell, and hardly a volume above her normal speaking voice, but it was the best Robin could manage. "Is anyone in? I'm… looking for an item? I could use some help" her words went unanswered, and Robin hesitantly began walking down an aisle. Most of the walls were covered with odd brick-a-brack and shelving, but there was a door at the back of the store reading 'employees only'.

As she reached the door, she realized it was covered with strange symbols although they weren't any she could identify through her small educational interest in religions. "Pardon, is anyone there?" Robin asked, lightly knocking on the metal door painted a sickly greenish hue. The suddenness of the door swinging open as well as the loud greeting from the woman behind it was enough to make Robin skitter a few paces back.

"I bid anyone who enters my shop a good morning and a along life!" the woman said enthusiastically, throwing her hands up dramatically before dropping them and finally looking at Robin. "Oh" she said quietly, her eyes going wide. "Oh, young lady, bad luck and ill will surrounds you!" she exclaimed in worry, her hands over her cheeks in yet another dramatic gesture.

Robin cleared her throat, smoothing down the sides of her coat nervously as she reclaimed a normal and more confident stance. "I'm here looking for a book, madam" Robin said as politely as she could, the woman's expressive behavior already digging under her skin.

"That can wait, first you must stop contaminating my shop with this darkness!" the woman declared, reaching out a bony hand and clasping Robin's arm before dragging her back through the doorway. "how have you gotten by before now? The stink of this unhealthy aura is almost palpable!" the woman continued, leading Robin down a short hall and into a small living quarters. "I will make some tea, and then we may work on righting your aura" she said, motioning for Robin to sit at the tiny table before turning towards the small kettle on her electric cup warmer.

Slightly bewildered by the woman's mutterings, Robin hesitantly stepped forward and immediately heard a cry of despair from the strange woman. "The tatami! You've stepped on the corner!" she exclaimed before rushing over and forcibly sitting Robin down on a cushion at the table. "You're a magnet for bad luck!" the woman scolded before taking a seat opposite Robin.

"Um, madam, this isn't really necessary, I'm only looking for a book. I can be on my way after-" the woman cut Robin off with a brisk wave of her hand.

"Nonsense. I won't charge you a dime for this, dear. I am a woman who helps out her community at any cost. No matter how large the demons are that surround you!" the woman exclaimed with a dramatic sweep of her hand before stopping and suddenly giving Robin an odd look. "young lady, you're dressed quite oddly. In order for us to progress, take off your glasses and hat and that awful scarf. And a jacket, too? It's not nearly cold enough for that! It's mild outside, surely you must be burning up?"

The woman's words about demons admittedly shook Robin, but the strange shopkeeper didn't appear a threat, so Robin removed her disguise and sat it neatly folded in a pile on the floor next to her. "Much better dear" the woman said with a smile, "I had no idea you were a foreigner, surely you haven't traveled all this way to seek my help? Kae Satou was once a great name, but I have since become less respected in our world"

Robin shifted uncomfortably, "No, nothing like that; not to sound disrespectful. I'm here on business, but recently things have been hindering my work, which is why I looked up that text and-"

"We'll get to that later," Kae said almost forcefully. "For now, tell me your name young lady"

"R," Robin stated, but then quickly squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head slightly, "I mean Robin. Robin Steele"

Kae smiled as if Robin had just told her a funny joke, and her crow's-feet-crowned eyes twinkled in amusement. "That name doesn't belong to you, the letter was more truthful, although I can see why you would lie to me in such times. You must understand I am nothing more than an old woman with brittle bones, I am not a threat to you as Kira would be" she paused, the enjoyment in her face suddenly halting. "You are close? You are close to him, aren't you?"

Robin swallowed heavily, thankful that her face remained placid. _To Kira? If this woman can ascertain I'm working on the Kira case… Is she some kind of psychic?_ "To who?" she asked quietly.

"The one that haunts you, he is close to you-was close to you?" Kae asks, and Robin fights the shiver running down her spine. What little relief Robin gained upon learning Kae didn't suspect her of hunting Kira was almost instantly replaced with painful thoughts of B, and their recent encounters.

"Y-yes, I was. Very close" Robin said, "How did you-?"

"You stink of death and grieving, dear" Kae said gently. "I can see now that your life has been hard, your scars are not the only indication" Robin absently touched one hand to the scar on her lip, unsure of what to say. "I mistook the demons around you as mischievous, only meaning to cause you minor troubles and bring you bad luck, but now I see that I was wrong. There is something much darker around you. It coats you so closely that it surely must have known you"

The sudden shrill whistle of the kettle made them both jump.

Kae got up quickly and served them tea in silence, it's only when she sits down again that she resumes speaking. "In spite of what I said earlier, your ghost has yet to break you. Your core spirit is strong and tough. It has been built up wisely through your unfortunate instances over time"

Robin took a hearty sip of the tea, even though her stomach was churning with unease at Kae's words. "I feel foolish for asking, but is there any way you can fix me?" she asked hesitantly.

Kae gave her a pitying smile, "No, dear, you can only fix yourself. As much as I would like to help you. even though, I can see now, you believe in none of this"

"No, I…" Robin trails of hesitantly. "I believe that he is haunting me. Although, weather it is merely psychological or he truly walks the earth in a mortal or immortal form, I haven't concluded yet" she said, and the honesty of her words makes her wince.

"I simply meant the world I live in, dear. Spiritual. You may have your doubts in that. It doesn't bother me," Kae stated. "but, this man that haunts you, have no doubt that he is real. Your science may explain him, but he does follow you in one way or the other"

Robin gulped. "I know. I've… seen him"

A look crossed Kae's face that seemed nervous enough for the two of them. "Have you spoken to him? Has he held a bodily contact with you?" she asked.

"He spoke to me even before I saw him. He had a knack for being wily in real life, so I have no doubt that he was able to disappear through un-supernatural means. But the next time, I talked to him and then he…" Robin covered her shoulder with her hand as the memory of their encounter at the ceremony washes over her. "he touched my shoulder" she finished.

"You've come in contact with him more than once?" Kae asked.

"Yes," Robin said, "I see him a lot. Although not terribly recently. I saw him in a dream last night"

Kae suddenly stands and begins bustling about her small room, opening a small pantry shelf in the corner. "There is nothing left for me to do, I can't help you with this. I can only caution you and urge you to stay safe. Remaining around others is the best thing you can do for now" she said. "I'm giving you these though, think of them as a gift, dear" Kae pressed three small jars into Robin's hands, strange spices with handwritten labels. "They can help you sleep, and relax. Use them before bed, or when you're in a panic"

"Drugs? Is this illegal-" Robin starts, but Kae interrupts.

"No, nothing like that, dear. Or perhaps maybe a pinch. I do hope the business you came here for doesn't do screenings" Kae says with a mischievous smile before returning towards the 'employee only' door, with Robin following reluctantly behind after grabbing the stack of her belongings.

They weave through a few aisles before coming to the section stuffed with books; old texts and new ones with worn covers litter the bookshelf and overflow into haphazard stacks and teetering masses on rickety chairs. "Now, what is this book you've been searching for?" Kae asked.

"Um, there were a few actually…" Robin trailed off as she dug the scrap of paper out from her folded coat pocket. "the first one is 'Shinto, Shamanism, and the way of the gods', the second 'Shinigami Dissected', and the last 'Al Azif'… I'm sorry if that title needs translation, it was hard for me to-" Robin looks up and stops as she suddenly becomes aware of the blank stare Kae's giving her.

The two previous books Robin named are dropped in her hands, and Kae seems old and frail as she retreats once again to her room before returning quickly with a book much more heavily worn than the others. "Al Azif is an Arabic title, it has no other language translation even though the rest of this book is in Japanese. Al Azif is meant to be the sound one hears late at night, the one that is undistinguishable as neither wind or wails." Kae says gravely, leading her to the register counter, "This is not something I give out lightly. I can tell that you are a smart girl, but with this you must be especially careful of how you handle the contents and what path this book may lead you on"

Robin fights another shiver, although her hands slightly shake as she hands Kae some money, three times as much as the woman rings up on the till. "Thank you" Robin said, and she meant it sincerely although her voice noticeably lacked the warmth.

"Stay safe, dear" Kae said in return before handing Robin her books in a thick brown paper sack.

Robin is dazed as she stood outside the shop, and it took her some time before she re-donned her disguise. The sidewalk is bustling with people, and Robin is thankful of the alcove of the occult shop so that she isn't run over as she puts on the coat and accessories. After she's finished, Robin enters the thriving mass and gradually feels the weight of Kae's conversation leave her among the loud chatter of the city around her.

That is, until she hears the first scream.

"It's true, they really are dead!" a young woman wails out, waving her phone in the air as if it's proof of the crime. Robin blinks, and tries to take stock of the current situation as murmurs go through the crowd. She'd been zoning out, mindless walking with the crowd, and Robin just now realizes she's standing in a crowd of onlookers in front of the giant news casting screen in the square. The cause of alarm is clear as day when she looks at the broadcast; a static background with the name 'Kira' in an ominous inky black font.

"I killed these people only because they denounced the name of Kira" the distorted deep voice said, booming throughout the square. "I don't want to harm the innocent. I am an advocate of peace and justice. I don't look at the police as my enemy, only as an ally" despite Kira's words, Robin can tell the crowd around her is getting restless and panicked.

_It's no good to make the public fearful like this, the broadcast has to be stopped. Then the task force can confiscate the tapes and deal with this message then. Their's no need to drag the public's health through this, Light!_ Robin stopped and squinted her eyes in thought. _But… This doesn't really sound like Light. I mean, his ideals are relatively the same… but… somehow…_ She stopped her thought as the voice spoke again.

"I will make this world into a better one, one where-" the Kira voice was almost drowned out by a man.

"Someone just collapsed! A police officer went to Sakura TV, and he collapsed!" A man shouted suddenly, turning up news coverage from another channel on his radio.

"Oh my god, Kira really is killing anyone that will stand in his way!" A woman in the crowd shouted hysterically.

Thoughts flickered through Robin's mind quickly; about the task force, the efforts they would no doubt be making to get the broadcast off the air. _What if it's a heart attack? Who collapsed? I've got to… no, Kira would-No, if I kept my disguise on like this there's no way Kira could get me. Unless, of course it's bullets or some sort of biological weapon, but-_

An angry shout cut off her thought. "Shut up, shut up! Kira is speaking!" an irate, muscular 20-something man shouted at the shocked chattering crowd.

"What are you, a supporter of that sick fuck?" someone in the crowd countered.

The young man seemed to still before narrowing his eyes at someone Robin couldn't make out from her position. "I support justice! I support Kira relieving us of those sick criminals! You should be thanking him!"

"Oh, thank you Kira; you dirty cop-killer!"

"You'll be next! Kira will get you next for saying that!"

"What about for giving you a black eye?"

_This crowd could get dangerous_, Robin thought, _I've got to get out of here. The Sakura station is only a block away, it's not likely I'll find a taxi, but…_ Robin turned and weaved through the growing crowd, dashing into an alley to get through to the station faster. For once, she was thankful she wasn't wearing heels or a suit; since her sneakers, jeans, and tank top were much better suited for sprinting.

Around 15 minutes later, Robin arrived sweaty and panting in front of the Sakura TV station, running past the rival news network filming the entrance in order to do so. "Hey, please don't go, you could be killed!" the female news reported shouted as she passed, trying to grab Robin's trench coat futility as she did so.

As the collapsed figure came into view, Robin immediately recognized him and let out a thankful breath that it wasn't a crumpled figure in jeans and a white t-shirt; no matter how unlikely that was. "Ukita!" She shouted, the pain from running digging harshly into her side as she ran to the body. "Ukita! Are you okay?" she asked, wincing as she fell hard to her knees beside the man. "Ukita, say something! Ukita!" Robin demanded, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in her side and the blooming sting in her knees. She shook him lightly, but only succeeded in lolling his head to the side. Robin snapped her fingers in front of his face and bit her lip when she saw the lack of response. The last test was to check his pulse, and with a heavy heart, Robin hung her head when she felt nothing but his already cold skin.

"Miss! Miss, who are you?" the reporter called to her across the street.

Robin frowned under her scarf, closing Ukita's eyes before she stood. "This man was Ukita Hirokazu, and he was a fine officer who has now died in the line of duty. I'm requesting that you vacate the area in order to keep yourselves safe" Robin ordered the reporter and her cameraman, who made no move to budge.

_Fine, don't do as I ask, idiots. It's heartless rating-hungry people like you that got us into this mess! If Sakura had just turned the tapes over to the police when they received them…_ Robin thought with a scowl before turning her attention to the doors of the Sakura building. Inside, she could barely make out a security guard, and Robin rushed to the glass window. "Open the doors! Open the doors!" she repeated, pounding on the glass. The man only frowned, making an 'X' motion at her with his hands before his eyes widened and he suddenly waved his arms around urgently.

Prompted only by the guard's pointing, Robin looked over her shoulder in bewilderment; and dived out of the way of the large SWAT vehicle just in time. When the glass and debris settled, Robin stood with a cough and hastily made sure her disguise was still on. She'd lost her navy fedora, but the large sunglasses and the scarf still thankfully kept her intact for the moment.

"Stand down, whoever you are! This is-" the chief stopped when he spotted Robin's familiar blonde hair and eyes. In a quieter tone he continued, "Robin?"

"No names" she said, rushing inside through the gaping hole the chief had created. "And you could have honked, or something"

The chief walked past her, directly towards the guard sprawled on the ground. "Where's the studio where the broadcast is coming from?" the chief demanded, his intimidating appearance making the guard meek enough to actually answer.

They raced down the hall, "This is the police! Stop the broadcast right now!" the chief ordered as he burst into the room, gun in hand and Robin hovering behind him in the doorway.

"W-what?" A fat man with glasses asked, obviously the one in charge judging by the fact that he was overseeing the other two employees currently operating the system.

"Stop the broadcast!" the chief ordered again.

"Detective, I can't! we'll all be killed by Kira if we do!" the man said, obviously afraid of the chief's outstretched gun.

"You'll give the tapes to me now if you don't want to be shot!" the chief nearly shouted.

The man teetered nervously. "What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?" he asked, on the edge of panic.

"Everyone, just calm down please" Robin spoke up evenly, the fact that the chief didn't turn on her with the gun cemented her hypothesis that he knew what he was doing; however unorthodox a way he was going about it. "Sir, we are the police. Despite any threats Kira has made against you, you will be imprisoned if you continue to keep these materials from us. If you don't give us the tapes, as well as any copies, and the packaging the tapes and instructions came in, the chief will be forced to take it from you by force"

"I-I…" the man fumbled. "Yes, I will get everything you need. Just… please tell him to lower his gun"

The chief did as he was told, although he kept it at the ready in his hand as well as the safety off. "Now, chief, may I please borrow your phone?" Robin asked and the chief nodded before tossing her the device. "and please press the signal for Mr. W" she asked, and the chief did that as well before moving closer to the employees that were collecting the evidence.

The chief's cell phone rang within a minute and Robin answered hurriedly. "Mr. W? Please hand the phone over to-"

"It's me. R, are you alright? Yagami was the one in the SWAT van? How is he doing?" L asked, his tone even and calm over the phone, but only forcibly so. Through his experience during tight situations, all emotion was currently void from L's voice and Robin could only speculate about how the events had effected him.

"I'm fine," she said. "It was the chief. He's here with me now, and seems fine despite his condition. We've stopped the broadcast and we're gathering the evidence. Although I… I've confirmed Ukita to be deceased" Robin refused to let herself pause and dwell, "How do we get out of here, is the front entrance too dangerous still?"

"Hold on a moment" L stated. The chief, having gathered all the Kira-related items, nodded his head towards the door and the two of them walked into the hall as Robin kept the phone carefully pressed against her ear. L's voice was back within a few seconds. "R, wait five minutes and then calmly walk out the front" he said.

"Just come out the front?" Robin repeated hesitantly, shooting the chief a nervous glace that soon turned to worry as she saw the state he was in. "Alright, L, I trust you. We'll be there soon" she said hurriedly before clicking the phone shut.

"chief are you alright?" Robin asked worriedly, observing the man wheezing and leaning heavily against the wall.

He gave her a sheepish expression, "I may have overdone it a little, but I'll be ok"

Robin nodded before looking at the phone's clock. "We've got two minutes, we might as well start walking. I'll help you" Robin stated, looping one of the chief's arms over her shoulder as the two of them began their slow but steady walk towards the Sakura entrance.

There were swat and police members everywhere, not daring to let a visible gap through. A sole man was waiting next to an inconspicuous Toyota, and the two approached the stranger with caution. "Thank you sir, but we'll drive ourselves" the chief said, his words holding a wheezing whistle.

"I'll drive, chief. Please rest" Robin said, blocking him from the drivers side door.

"But, how young are you? Can you drive?" the chief asked worriedly.

"I'm 18 sir, I can drive just fine. No need to worry" Robin assured.

A kind, but tired, smile overtook the chief's face. "Sorry, parental instincts kicking in. I'll just lay down in the back seat for awhile. Catch my breath" the old man said before slipping inside the car.

Although Robin didn't exactly drive 'just fine', or even have a license for that matter, they made it back to the hotel without incident. After another long and tiring walk, the two of them entered the suite's living room with relived greetings from the rest of the task force. "Chief! Robin!" Matsuda exclaimed, "You're alright!"

It was followed by Aizawa's own worried, "chief? You don't look very well" since the chief was flanked by both Robin and Whammy, he must have looked much worse than he probably was, but either way the chief took a seat on the nearby couch.

"I'm fine, just a little tired. Robin drove and allowed me to rest some on the way here" the chief explained, and Robin carefully avoided L's eyes since he most likely knew of her lack of license. "but I do apologize for acting so brashly like that. I let my emotions get the better of me"

"Not at all, you did a fine job chief" L said monotonically, suspiciously leaving Robin absent from the compliment.

"Also, this bag contains everything that Sakura had from Kira's package. Even the copies of the tapes" the chief said, Aizawa taking the bag from his hand.

"Robin, what's in there?" Matsuda enquired, and Robin looked back down at the brown paper bag clutched tightly in her right hand with sudden remembrance.

She blinked for a moment before pushing thoughts of Kae's strange words away. "Oh, um. I was shopping earlier. When I saw the news… the crowd was fighting and a lot of people were really angry, where the square with the big news screen is? It could be dangerous, has anyone checked up on that?" Robin asked, slightly dazed now that the adrenaline was wearing off.

"The police will take care of it," L stated, taking her hand and leading her to the other couch occupying the room. "I think it's best if you sit down for the moment, but we'll talk later" Robin nodded dully at him, clutching the paper sack in her lap as the team came alive around her. "Aizawa, please take these things to the lab, and Matsuda can you drive Yagami back to the hospital please? Only when he feels ready to walk again of course. Watari, can you bring R and I something to eat? I'm going to get started on watching these tapes"

**I've added more Fragaria/Robin+L doodles to my photo bucket, which you can view through the homepage link on my profile. thanks for the reviews and favs!- luv, Cart**


	10. Chapter 10

L completed watching an entire tape before he focused on Robin again, who now looked considerably less shaken after sitting down and having some tea. The brown paper bag she'd been clutching itched at him, it's mysterious contents made L too curious; Whammy took care of the shopping-even her feminine items-so it's presence was definitely going to be a topic for a later discussion. The bag was resting on a nearby coffee table along with the clothing that made up Robin's disguise, leaving her in just her jeans and t shirt since she'd taken off her shoes and socks long ago. It was somehow pleasant to see her in casual attire, although she hadn't been dressing in suits since he'd accused her of using them to appear intimidating before Light's entrance ceremony.

"Are you going to yell at me?" Robin questioned quietly, and L suddenly became aware that he'd been staring at her as he let his thoughts drift off.

He got up off the couch and walked to the dessert tray, pouring himself another cup of tea with a heavy amount of sugar. "Why would I do that?" he enquired, not bothering to ask for her approval as he retrieved her cup from the nearby coffee table and refilled it as well.

"You have to know I don't have a driver's license. And I nearly got myself killed at the Sakura station. Twice; if you count Kira's presence plus the chief nearly running me over. You congratulated him on a job well done, but not me. I understand I took some risks, but they were worth it in order to help" Robin answered in somewhat of a rush, avoiding L's eye contact as he handed her the full teacup.

"I can't say I was in right straights at the time. If you wanted validation from me, I apologize for not paying attention. You handled yourself very well and certainly helped Yagami solve the situation" L said.

"Right straights? Did you…" Robin trailed off, unsure of how to phrase the question she wanted to ask. "U-Ukita?" she finally said, turning to look at L and then quickly averting her eyes; surprised to find his eyes already observing her.

"It is the first time someone I'd known personally has died on a case. There was once a significantly close call that hindered me emotionally; but seeing Ukita go down before my eyes was a great deal more… effecting." L said.

"You knew B personally" Robin pointed out, making prolonged eye contact with him for the first time that night.

L paused, staring at her until he spoke. "That was different, he had ceased to be the B I knew. I was, admittedly, far more concerned for your well being at that point in the case" He casually took a sip of his tea and lowered his eyes, as if they were taking about the weather or the latest soccer match instead of the great L admitting to having actual feelings.

"You were?" Robin asked in disbelief, suddenly feeling ashamed of her past notions about L; of her naivety to believe B's lies. It made something inside her chest swell knowing that L cared about her well being.

"There was a lot of blood at that hotel" L stated before pausing and turning to regain eye contact with her again. "R, there were restraints on the bed… A thought that troubled me most is the probability of unwanted sexual-"

"No, he didn't" Robin said quickly, swallowing hard. "Once, I thought-I thought he was going to-But he didn't. Nothing like that" as she said it, her hand betrayed her and touched her lips softly as she thought of the kiss B had administered when he tried to drown her. "Do you think…" she trailed off, slouching into herself as she squeezed her eyes shut. "Most serial killers target people they don't know, or people that are symbols of their opposing views. B's murders were that way, but, when it came to killing me… he couldn't do it. Do you think that he…?"

L sat down beside her on the couch, taking the cup of tea from her shaky hands and placing it on the coffee table, "Had an emotional attachment to you?" L finished for her, his large black eyes drawing in her every movement.

Robin ran her hand exhaustedly through her hair and started rhythmic deep breaths to calm herself. "Sociopaths have no emotional attachments. They cant care about people. I mean, obviously they can see well enough the social norms that dictate compassion for their fellow man; but to say that he had some sort of… It's… I know I've diagnosed him properly. He is a sociopath. I just don't understand how it could be possible that he could break through that barrier. Maybe it was subconscious somehow?" She rested her chin on her hands, looking towards L for a comment.

"Whammy's certainly was not the place for him to develop such a thought, subconscious or not, the house has never followed closely enough to societal norms," L said. "But it's not hard to believe he could have actualized his feelings for you when the two of you left the house; after he was alone. It's not strange to hypothesize that he missed you, and further sensations arose from it." he spoke simply, forcibly meeting Robin's eyes as he spoke and taking on his carefully measured even tone. His forced anti-typical actions the same L utilized when lying, or when he was under pressure.

His reaction puzzled her. "Does talking about B make you nervous?" Robin asked quietly.

L took in a sharp intake of breath that made a chill like a lightning bolt, just as quick and potent, run through her spine. He stood suddenly, walking briskly to the wide hotel window overlooking nighttime Tokyo brimming with life. It wasn't until after he took another sip of his tea that he was once again fully composed enough to speak. "What did you buy today?" he questioned calmly.

She almost didn't know what he meant, until her eyes randomly landed on the crumpled brown paper bag still sitting with the remains of her disguise on the table. "It's nothing. Some books." Robin answered.

"Watari could have purchased them for you" L pointed out.

_I know, but I didn't want him to think I'm going off the deep end. I'm already doing enough worrying for the both of you. _she thought before quickly shaking her head. "You know I didn't want to stay when you discussed Misora. There was nothing else to do" Robin said.

It was a plausible answer, but L squinted his eyes suspiciously out the window into the street below just the same. "I'm curious as to what has become of your literary taste" he pressed.

"You're changing the subject" she said.

"As are you" he countered.

"That nightmare was about him" Robin blurts suddenly, her hand flying to her mouth at the same time as she squeezed her eyes shut. The room is silent, the only sounds being the quiet static coming from the TV and the noises of a bustling city drifting up from below the window. She can hear his clothes shift around his skin as he returns to the couch. L says nothing, only lets the silence go on, and Robin hesitantly opens her eyes. He is expectant. His large analyzing black pupils urging her to continue. They make her feel like a pinned moth under glass being studied. "It was… terrifying" she freely admits.

L's sudden hand covering hers makes her jump, and as quickly as he applied it, his touch retreats until she stops him and intertwines his long spindly fingers in hers. "Physical contact is helpful to comfort victims" he states blankly, his voice just as unreadable as his face because she refuses to look at it. His habitually cold hand in her warm panicky one is distracting. Her throat is unnaturally dry.

She swallows with some difficulty, "I… It just… seemed so real" Robin stuttered out, feeling the uncontrollable shaking well up once again in her small frame. The panic was exhausting, but a feeling she was quickly becoming accustomed to.

"What did he do?" L asked quietly.

_I can't tell him the truth, _Robin reminded herself despite the fact that L's close comforting presence was making her want to simply break down and tell him everything; seeing B, the hallucinations, the dreams, B's strange power over Adeline's death… a power he still seemed to hold. Releasing all the pent up secrets would surely be the easier route, and it was ever so tempting under the same soothing proximity that had enveloped her in the bathroom with him only a few nights ago.

"Do you know what he did before he tried to drown me?" Robin asked rhetorically, her voice quiet and solemn. "All the blood loss and the beating made me so dizzy and incoherent, but I remember he… He took off my clothes. And he called me beautiful. And then he put me in the bath and he- he kissed me. And he grabbed my hair. He pulled me under. He wouldn't stop until I couldn't breath. Until I chocked and until I…"

"Until you were rendered unconscious. I am aware. Misora had to save you. The doctors preformed full diagnosis at the scene; conclusive that he had attempted to drown you-" L stated. His voice was as cold as his hands.

Robin suddenly felt stupid and ashamed; she was still afraid to look at his eyes. "You're so businesslike," she said, her voice holding bitterness that was surprising and stinging even to her own ears. "I wish I could be as cold as you. I guess that's the great L's secret; that he knows how to look at people like case files"

_No, no, no, _She thought, _this is B's thoughts slipping in again. I know L isn't like that. He just admitted about Ukita. He admitted he was concerned for me when B took me._

_Then why is he such a robot?_

_Shut up, look at who's the pot calling the kettle black. If anyone's a robot, it's me. I don't even care about his damn reactions. I know L has feelings. Just like I do. He just tries not to get effected by-_

_There is no trying. He doesn't care about you. Or what happened to you. You're his employee on this case, and a civilian during B's, that's as far as his concern goes._

_No, that's not true at all, he needs to remain strong for the role he plays in his cases. Of course he cares about the victims, and who he employs. But I know he cares about me much more than that. In the same way that… Wait. I… Do I want him to… show something for me? But that's… No! That's ridiculous! He's L!_

"You're correct," L said coldly, his hand leaving hers quickly. Despite the voice in her head urging her to once again snatch up his fingertips in hers, Robin was motionless as L continued. "The only thing that drives me is work. So, if you would excuse me, I have to catch Kira" he left the couch beside her, hastily pushing another tape into the TV's player. "You should be paying more attention to these as well" L said, as the tape began playing.

Robin bit her lip, the guilt of her hurtful words settling heavily over her shoulders and making her slump into the couch in shame as Kira's words rang out in the silent room.

"Don't try to fight this, the revolution of justice is for you; all of you. I'm creating a better world for you, for your children to grow up free of fear and hate. These deaths are sacrifices, for you"

**…**

The meeting was tense, the cause not only being the team's lack of more than a few hours of sleep, but the palpable tension between L and Robin as well. "The tape detailing police cooperation with this Kira basically has two conditions; to broadcast more criminals, and to show the faces of the top brass and L on live TV agreeing to the terms. Basically, so that they could have our faces in case we did something suspicious"

Chief Yagami, looking considerably less worse for wear after his overnight hospital stay, spoke up solemnly. "And if we had said no to working with Kira?"

"The same thing, only expressed differently. This Kira is very adamant about seeing L and the top brass's faces" L stated. "And since the answer is of course 'no', please allow Sakura station to air the forth video" L said, pushing the play button on the remote to re-watch the forth tape for the entire investigation team to see.

"The police have answered that they still wish to fight me, so, I will first take the life of the director general of the NPA. Or, I may take the life of the detective L who is leading the investigation. I leave the decision with you as to which one will be your sacrifice. Keep in mind, it is only you to blame for this; given that you have not cooperated in the rise of the new world. Please decide within four days"

The manipulated voice of Kira left the room in a shocked silence, Robin having been already exposed to the message, allowed her eyes to trail around the room to observe the reactions of the investigative team. The Chief was gritting his teeth, the difficulty of the decision hitting him hard straight away. Both Aizawa and Mogi had similar expressions of futile despair, while Matsuda was the only one appearing openly horrified at the situation.

"L, you know of course that the director will be more inclined to let you fall on this sword?" the chief said slowly, sadly.

L casually took a sip of his tea. "That would be the far more reasonable option" he said.

"But why? You're the L, surely the director will realize that! I know each life should be valued equally, but you-" Matsuda said, voice high and bordering on the edge of hysterical.

"You misunderstand, Matsuda" Robin said, cutting him off. "People know the director personally, while L is an enigma. Something which is ideal for his job, but not in this case. It will most likely come down to a vote, a vote which someone who can be seen with more humanity will win" she said, meeting L's eyes with sympathy even though his black orbs remained cold to hers.

"I suggest you call the director and discuss what can be don't with this situation, Yagami" L stated, the Chief nodding and pulling his cell phone from his pocket as he stood. He took the call into the hallway, leaving the rest of the team in the motionless, achingly quiet room.

Matsuda tried to give L an uplifting smile, "You never know, Ryuzaki, things could turn out differently" he attempted to reassure.

L glanced at the man before his gaze disappeared into the depths of his tea. "Hardly. A three percent chance" he answered. And with that, the room loped into silence again; until the chief returned through the door.

"I'm afraid to say that it's just as you thought, Ryuzaki" the chief stated solemnly.

L casually took another sip of his tea, but Robin could see the forced deliberate strokes in his actions. When he forced his calmness, that was when L was undoubtedly the most scared. "Well, we do have three days left. So in the meantime, let's think of a measure to prevent all that. It would annoy me considerably if I'm killed by someone who jumped on the Kira bandwagon"

"Huh?" Matsuda let out in surprise.

"You noticed it as well?" Robin questioned.

"What do you mean?" the chief said, the three of their statements almost blending together since they were so closely followed after one another.

"There is a high possibility that this Kira is a fake… no, we should address them as the second Kira" L said.

A collective gasp rang out from the three policemen, "second Kira? What makes you think this is another Kira?" Aizawa asked in surprise.

"Well, first there were the victims of Kira that were used to convince Sakura station that the tapes were indeed from the real Kira; all of these victims being daytime talk and news show announcers. Victims very different from Kira's usual prey. The second Kira used these people only because he couldn't run the risk of Kira killing a criminal he had selected before the second Kira needed to prove himself to Sakura." L said.

As usual, the team largely remained in awe of L's deductive skills. "But, Ryuzaki, what are the chances that this is really a second Kira?" the chief asked.

"Over seventy-five percent. These actions are far too different that those of the first Kira." L stated. "I don't like the way this one does things"

"the way this one does things?" Matsuda asked. "What do you mean?"

L swallowed a bite of his cake, washing it down with some tea before he spoke. "The first Kira has never killed innocent people; aside from those trying to catch him. Anyway, I think we should concentrate our efforts on trying to catch the second Kira within three days. If we catch this Kira, we may also have a hint to find the first one as well" L said.

"But you're forgetting something important," Robin spoke up, all eyes curiously turning to her. "while it is obvious this is a second Kira making the tapes, you haven't looked at the type of profile she displays"

He return his fork to the plate of cake, leaving it there in favor of fully observing Robin's theory. "She?" he questions, enough to prompt her to continue.

Somehow, L's attention makes Robin express a smile. "Yes. Not only are the victims only on daytime shows, but also exclusively in women's magazines. Evidence which isn't conclusive on it's own; but if you pay attention to the way the second Kira says things you can see it. She knows there is a first Kira, and is trying to make him curious about her through the tapes; she also wants to impress him. She's a full-blown Kira worshipper, but also a fan girl. Even when she outlined the police's duties if they were to cooperate. And I quote, 'especially those criminals who have overpowered someone of weaker means'. Most likely, she was involved in an incident and Kira killed her oppressor. That's probably what started her love for Kira number one" she explained.

A short silence overtook the room as the rest of the force took in the entirety of her theory, L of course being the first one to speak. "It does seem like a bit of a stretch in some areas, but I have to say that I agree with you, R. The probability of the second Kira being a woman is roughly ninety-two percent. Surely a factor that can be useful in some way" he said.

Robin grinned at him. "I'm glad to help" she said brightly.

L appraised her expression, but made no comment or acknowledgement before turning to the chief. "Yagami, I have an idea. Would it be too much to ask to propose your son's cooperation for this investigation?"

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know I've neglected this story for awhile. Between my fantastic spring break trip with my friends, my increased work hours, and my new boyfriend, I haven't had a lot of time to do what I want. And most of that time goes towards my web comics, so I apologize for the lateness of this chapter! Also, as always, thanks so much for the favs and reviews. I hope y'all stick with this story! -Luv, Cart**


	11. Chapter 11

Light's presence made Robin feel jittery. Although it had been a significant amount of time since she'd seen the teenager in person, his underlying sly personality remained per usual along with his careful surface act of perfection; the things that made it the hardest for Robin to create definite entries into his growing profile. Currently, she was positioned on the couch observing Light's reaction to the tapes and discretely recording notable reactions into a small hand notebook.

As always, Light was difficult to read. But something about the second Kira seemed to make him slip up, brought out his inner persona. _Folded arms to indicate dissatisfaction, crossed legs with tensed muscles show defensiveness, coupled with-two so far-quick glances sideways which equals irritation. _Robin thought, simultaneously jotting down the words in her notebook. _All signs point to Light being annoyed with this Kira; again strengthening the likelihood that he's Kira as well as the possibility that he was unaware of the second Kira's existence. I can confidently say that he and the second Kira have not yet met, indicated by Light's utter disapproval of the second's actions so far. His glances of irritation have come in time with the phrases 'I am creating justice for our world' and 'I have chosen these people because they daily slander Kira's name and power'. He is clearly not a fan of this Kira taking so much control._

"Light, what did you think?" L asked as the tape finally stopped, "Did you get something out of it?"

Robin quickly slid her notebook in her jean pocket, hiding her evidence of her observations as Light turned towards L. As he caught the detective's eye, a clear flash of distain went through Light's eyes in an angry squint. "There may be more than one person with Kira's power" Light stated, and Robin nearly let her jaw drop.

_How did Light conclude, in that single moment, that L had created the trap for him? _Robin wondered in awe. _Is there some smugness indicated by L's face that I couldn't see? Maybe Light was just smart enough to suspect L of creating such a devious trick for him. Or Light was suspicious that no one shared their findings with him beforehand? Either way, L was right when he said Light's deductive skills were amazing._

"Kira's power? Light, what do you mean?" the chief asked, reacting rather loudly due to being so silently tightly wound in the situation. Understandably, of course.

Despite this, Light didn't seemed taken aback at all. "Judging by the video, this isn't the Kira we've known until now. Up until that video, Kira never used suspects for announced killings. And it was also assumed that Kira needed a face and a name to kill, but the Kira that made this video was able to take down the officers with only a face"

As Light finished, Aizawa spoke up in awe. "It's the same…"

"Exactly the same deduction as L-I mean, Ryuzaki, came up with!" Matsuda exclaimed, finishing Aizawa's thought. A look of pride, relief, and awe assaulted the chief's face all at once; although he made no effort to voice any thoughts on the matter.

"I also think we're looking at a second Kira" L said.

Light pretended to be shocked, "so you knew, Ryuga-I mean, Ryuzaki?" he asked, taking a defensive stance as he crossed his arms. "You were trying to test me then?"

"I didn't test you," L said. "The more people that can agree on a theory, the higher percentage of credibility it gives that theory. Although both of us missed some key points in our initial findings"

The shock in Light's face was real this time, and succeeded in wiping off the subtle smugness that L's earlier words had granted him. "What do you mean?" he asked calmly, annoyed at his analysis's lack of complete satisfaction for L.

"The second Kira is a woman," Robin spoke up resolutely, getting up from the couch to join the standing men arranged in a haphazard half-circle. "Not only that, but she is completely devoted to Kira. She also doesn't posses nearly on par intelligence as the first Kira; so she would probably happily follow whatever the real Kira says" she finished, choosing to give Light the condensed version of her conclusions while not including her theory on how the second Kira gained her devotion.

"In light of these observations, we will make a fake message from the real Kira. Which will give us a good chance to stop this second Kira" L stated.

Light's gaze lingered suspiciously over Robin before he shifted his focus wholly to L. "Yes, I also thought that would be a good plan." he agreed.

"Light, I would like you to play the part of the real Kira" L said, making both Light and Robin let out unhidden jaw-drops.

_Surely, I would be a better fit for that! I know we're currently operating under the assumption that Light is absolutely the original Kira; but what if he isn't? my extensive profile on Kira would be more than enough to- _"M-me?" Light asked in disbelief, cutting of Robin's rambling disappointed thoughts.

"Yes. With your genius, you should certainly be capable" L said, "we really don't have time to waste discussing it. I would like you to finish a script in time to air on tonight's news"

Light seemed to be at a loss for words, nodding in consent of the idea instead. "But, L-Ryuzaki" Robin began, her words stumbling as L shifted his gaze to her and let it turn cold. She bristled, sighing exasperatedly at his continued attitude and, after taking stock of the rest of the expectant occupants of the room, decided to at least attempt at resolving last night's mistake. "…Can I speak to you privately please?" Robin finally said.

L tilted his head in silent agreement, leading the way through the doorway and out into the hall with Robin following quietly behind him. They stopped at the surveillance room; where they had first watched Light long ago but whose screens now contained monotone pictures of various areas in the hotel suite. Had things between them not been so off, Robin might have made another crack about L's paranoia.

"What is it you need to discuss with me?" L questioned, in the same clipped businesslike tone he'd been using ever since their late-night chat over the tapes.

Robin bit her lip, avoiding his eyes as she ran a hand through her hair. "I know you're not cold. It's necessary to keep your emotions on a tight leash, but I know you do have them. What I said last night was stupid and wrong. I wasn't thinking right. I was angry and I lashed out with the drivel B used to tell me. I'm really sorry, L" she said, hoping the sincerity of using his initial was enough to make up for her eye contact with the floor.

L let a pause draw between them before he spoke. "What made you angry? Discussing B?" It relived Robin that his tone was lighter, free from the bitterness of his cold voice, and held a genuine interest for her reply.

She shuffled her feet awkwardly, "Well sort of. I was angry that you were so… nonchalant about what I was saying" Robin admitted.

A chuckle drew her attention immediately to his face, the surprise evident in her own expression as she observed the rarity of L's amused light laugh. Somehow, it sounded so wonderful that her shock melt into a small shy smile. "You wanted me to be upset?" L questioned.

Robin had never been so thankful that she was incapable of blushing, although she could feel her heartbeat quicken and her blood warm in a way that could grow to betray her. "No. I don't know. I mean, I understand that you would rather force out a calm exterior than be open with your emotions. I was being stupid…" she trailed off.

"I wouldn't categorize that as stupid" he stated, "although I do find it interesting that you became upset, despite of how irrational it was to suspect me to react otherwise to what you'd already concluded I would do"

"Interesting?" Robin repeated in confusion. Mulling over the fact that he was correct, that she had been rather irrational in her outburst. _I've been rather irrational a lot lately. Considering our fight and then… how I reacted to the second Kira's demand on the tape for L. _Robin thought as she remembered how the demand had left her slack-jawed despite it's eventual possibility. As soon as the tape had said it last night, she'd glanced back and forth from the detective to the screen before internally going off about his calm acceptance of it all. "Are you not scared in the slightest?" Robin questioned abruptly, curiously.

L seemed taken aback momentarily before he understood what she was asking after. "When I became a detective I knew that there could one day be risks like this, no matter how carefully I could possibly go into a situation" he stated before continuing in a heavier tone that reflected more reality. "That being said, of course I am"

"How can you still function under all this pressure? If this plan fails, you'll basically have your head on a chopping-"

"Thank you for reminding me" L interrupted suddenly, something flashing through him that made Robin ache painfully. He suddenly seemed much more fragile than his alias; his indigo-stained eyes bruises of his devotion, his lanky limbs echoing a creaky exhaustion, and his pale skin a brand of his separation from the rest of the world. She felt a swell of pity and admiration well up inside her all at once, something that led her to lurch towards him without any sort of thought process.

L went stiff with her proximity, but Robin persisted in wrapping her arms around his slender waist and pressing herself comfortingly against his chest; her head fitting like a puzzle piece perfectly in the crook of his neck. She said nothing, but let the feeling wash over her; the soothing warmth that encompassed her when she was involved in moments like this with L. And with the feeling, came L's hesitant arms around her back to return the gesture in silence.

"I don't hug anyone. Ever." Robin said quietly after letting a few quiet moments of their embrace tick by. "You should consider yourself highly lucky right now" she said.

She felt his smile, or rather heard it in his voice, as he replied with a simple "I do"

**…**

"I think I acted out the part of Kira rather convincingly" Light said smugly from the plush chair as L stood reading his script, with Robin peering curiously over his shoulder.

L paused before answering, "I think this is very good…" he began, as if trying not to hurt Light's feelings on the subject.

"But, if you don't remove the part about it being acceptable to kill L, then he'll die" Robin stated monotonically, with a wilting squint towards Light.

Light laughed lightheartedly. "Sorry about that, I was channeling Kira so closely that I forgot about that. But what's with that face anyway, Robin?" he questioned.

Embarrassed, Robin hurriedly wiped her attempt at a glare off her face and settled for crossing her arms in Light's general direction instead. Despite her actions, she was still able to catch L's smirk as he announced, "That's her version of a glare, Light. You might be wise to take it as a threat" L said, his amusement coming out in his voice.

Robin cleared her throat to get them back on subject, "Anyway, the rest of the script seems to be up to par. We should have it out together and sent off right away" she said.

"Of course. I'll get Watari on it" L said with a nod, his smirk constant despite his now businesslike tone.

The three of them left the small den where Light had been working and walked out into the living room, where the rest of the team was located and occupied with paperwork and coffee. As L left to find Watari in the surveillance room, both Robin and Light flopped down on the couch. Robin with considerable less care than Light, as he tried to appear alert and interested in anything involving the case.

"Dad, is there anything else I can do in the meantime while we wait for a response?" Light asked, straightening his tie as he leaned towards the team's work curiously.

The chief gave his son a light smile through his tired expression as he looked up from a large file. "Not currently. Unless you can come up with a more efficient filing strategy than what Matsuda's set up" he said with a smile towards the other officer as a symbol of his playful words.

Light took him seriously, immediately rising from the couch. "I'm not beneath filing things" he assured before walking to the coffee table covered in paper and surrounded by case file boxes. "oh, this is rather messy actually. What system are you using?" Light enquired.

Matsuda's shoulder's drooped as did his usual carefree expression that was already dampened by the task force's late night work. "Well, dates and then locations" he said, obviously feeling scrutinized by Light's proven intelligence.

"Oh, well that won't do. Its probably easier to do it alphabetically" Light said with a smile as he sat in front of the table, lifting a box in order to start re-categorizing it.

Matsuda forced a slightly nervous smile back at the teenager. "Okay… well, maybe you would like some coffee then, Light?"

"No thank you" he replied curtly, and the room regained its quiet white noise of shuffling papers and clicking computer keys to only leave Matsuda looking lost.

As Robin began to frown at the display she'd watched, Matsuda's gaze suddenly caught hers and his expression brightened like a light bulb was illuminated over his head. "Robin!" he said abruptly.

Not wanting to kick him when he was down, Robin expressed a smile at him. "Yes, Matsuda?" she asked.

"I've been wondering about something lately…" he began hesitantly, their conversation notably ignored by the rest of the task force, "You knew Naomi Misora, right?"

Robin let her face drop as soon as Matsuda spoke the name aloud. "…Yes" she answered stoically.

"Did you work with her on a case?" Matsuda asked, "L mentioned something about Los Angeles?" Light's ears seemed to perk up at these words, as well as the prospect of learning more about who Robin was.

However, Robin was too immersed in her own thoughts to notice that fact. "I… Sort of. The Wara Ninyo Murders may not have been news here, but-"

The chief cut her off, "the case where a serial killer sent clues to the police that no one could solve? L was involved in that? You?" he asked, the old man suddenly interested. By now it was clear that the rest of the task force was listening in, weather they were subtly eavesdropping while attending to their work or not.

"I've never heard of it" Matsuda said, shyer now that he knew they had an audience.

"I used to do a bit of case research in my spare time, and that certainly stuck out. Although I don't know why there wasn't more press on it, even if it was foreign. The murders were only… 6 months ago?" the chief said.

Robin swallowed hard, curling her legs up onto the couch and wrapping her arms around them in a comforting ball. "Yeah. It wasn't that long ago. The case was mostly kept quiet"

"How did you start working with Misora?" Matsuda prompted curiously.

"I never…" Robin trailed off as she thought about her place in the LABB case. _I was never on Misora's side. Until B blindsided me… _"I wasn't working with her. I was working with another… detective when I encountered her. She was working for L"

Matsuda looked confused, "You haven't always worked with Ryuzaki?" he asked.

Robin shook her head. "I've known him for a long time, but I've never worked with him until this case" she said.

"It hardly seems like that. For the most part you two work well together" Mogi complimented.

"Why did you join Ryuzaki after the Wara Ninyo case?" the chief asked.

She paused, "I… Felt a lot safer that way" she finally answered.

The room coated itself in silence, until Matsuda spoke up with a simple, "Why?"

Robin squeezed her eyes shut tightly, her arms tightening around her knees as the thought of B once again invaded her peace of mind. "None of that is your business" came a cold voice from the doorway, and the team turned to spot L standing at the doorjamb; the wilting blank look that was usually reserved for when Matsuda said something stupid, gracing his features.

"They didn't mean any harm really" Robin supplied quietly, thankful for his presence despite of her words.

"Regardless, it's late, and there isn't much work to be done until we get a response from the second Kira. Please take your leave, everyone" L said.

The air of the room was awkward, but lingering with a curiosity that was reflected by the task force's furtive glances at both Robin and L as the team gathered their things and said their goodbyes for the night. Once all was said and done, the detective and the psychologist were left alone in the large living room disarray with files and boxes.

"I… didn't tell them anything. They wanted to know my connection to Misora is all" Robin said.

"I know. I was standing in the door for a good deal of it. But you forget who's listening in. You need to be careful around Light, he's trouble"

For some reason, Robin is immediately reminded of one quiet afternoon years ago at Whammy's when L had pulled her aside and warned her gravely, _"stay away from B, he's trouble"._

The living room of the suite is warm, but a shiver runs down her spine all the same.

**…**

_Shinigami (__死神__), or Gods of Death, are a race of extra-dimensional beings who survive by killing humans to extend their own lives. Shinigami are not responsible for every death that occurs; people will eventually die regardless of whether or not the Shinigami pay attention to them, but a Shinigami can end their lives sooner than intended to extend their own lifespan._

"Ridiculous" Robin said aloud, squinting at the worn book in her hands as if to better understand it's foreign concepts. She had started her research with 'Shinigami Dissected', a comprehensive gathering of all myths and superstitions thought to be related or about the gods of death. Along with information, the book also came along with a host of theories that cited no sources or basis. Strangely enough, and although Robin personally saw no point to religions and superstitions outside of societal need, the books she had gotten from Kae's occult shop (after her internet hunting had lead her to the titles) were hard to put down. Something about the studies was fascinating and strangely nagging.

_Shinigami eyes are said to hold the power of ETD (estimated time of death) predictions, although they cannot ascertain their own ETD's. Sometime during the 15__th__ century, the myth of 'Masuyo and the Eyes' was created._

_The tale begins with a beautiful young maiden betrothed to a middle-aged Shogun of great power; an act that would bring much wealth and happiness to her family. However, young Maysuyo hated the man; having already fallen in love with a neighboring farmer boy. Feeling helpless to her fate, she secretly held her disappointment away only to be released at night when she crept quietly to the river side to weep in peace._

_On once such night a shinigami descended upon the river and, so occupied in her grief, Maysuyo let the monster comfort her with it's words. Unable to hold any fear towards the creature, she listened as the shinigami introduced itself and professed it's guardianship over her. For many years, the shinigami had watched Maysuyo grow up from his perch in the shinigami realm. The creature explained his displeasure at seeing her so unhappy, as well as his journey to the human world to aide her._

_In what western scholars would describe as a 'deal with the devil', Maysuyo exchanged with the shinigami half her remaining life for the power of his shinigami eyes. With this power, she could see the death date of the shogun, and requested their wedding to take place a mere day before his demise. However, with the eyes held a power that proves maddening to humans; who were never meant to hold such responsibility of knowing._

_The night of the honeymoon, Maysuyo watched the shogun's life slowly dwindle while staving off his advances to christen their union. As his time grew shorter, Maysuyo became aware of the lack of threat to his life and was driven hysterical by the idea of the shinigami playing a cruel trick by having the eyes lie. In her fever, she stabbed the shogun fatally, ending his life at the preconceived time. Guilt flooded the young woman and she fled their home for the arms of the farm boy, but when she raised her head to gaze at him she discovered his remaining life was mere seconds. Driven mad with the deaths the night had surrounded her, Maysuyo fled to the comfort of the river._

_Some servants, having found the shogun, soon made the entire village aware of the death and began searching for Maysuyo, some in suspicion while others in concern for fear of a kidnapping. By dawn, they had found her by the river, babbling with madness and blind to the world around her; having torn the cursed eyes from her skull and cast them out into the rushing waters._

_Biased on this tale, no human may be granted the shinigami eyes without the dangers of insanity. And recently uncovered reports of paranoid schizophrenics throughout the years, their names anonymous, make bazzaringly similar claims of being 'haunted' or 'affected with the eyes'._

Robin nearly drops the book, a terrible feeling growing immediately in her gut as she turned the page and stared at the crisp illustration of red threatening eyes.

_Fig. C, Shinigami eyes as portrayed by patient 13._

Her throat starts to constrict at the sight of, not only the oh-so-familiar eyes, but the number neatly printed beneath the picture. In a panicky haste, Robin slams the book shut and drops it on the bed as if it burned her. "No. It's not possible. A myth. Blind pandering of some occult crazies" she mutters to herself, her thoughts swimming with information.

_But everything fits so perfectly… _she thought, her hands already shaking in fear. _If B made a deal with the devil once, could he have done the same to cheat death?_

**A/N: Once again, thanks for reading as well as the favs and reviews! -Luv, Cart**


	12. Chapter 12

Robin's sleep that night was plagued by nightmares, so it came as no surprise that she'd slept in incredibly late; but what was surprising was that the knocking on her bedroom door came not from Whammy as she'd expected, but from L as she discovered upon opening it. "Just tell-" Robin began, but stopped upon seeing the detective standing in her doorway. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

"It's nearly noon" he stated.

"I know, I mean, I just woke up and looked at the clock-I didn't mean to sleep this late… But why are you waking me up? Is Mr.W alright?" she asked, confused.

L strode past her into her room, "He's quite alright. I just needed to discuss something with you privately, hence why I came to rouse you" he stated.

Robin pushed down the annoyance of L inviting himself in and shut her door. "Well, what is it?" she asked, strolling to her dresser and putting on some pajama pants instead of just the oversized shirt and underwear she had been clothed in.

He looked out her window, pretending to be oblivious to her state of undress. "Mr. Frederick contracted me this morning" L stated, and Robin immediately frowned. "He said you've been missing your appointments for weeks now, but he was hesitant to involve me least you loose your trust in him further. You've apparently been refusing to talk about anything important with him" L stated.

"He refuses to listen to me. That's what they're paying him for anyway, but he's always changing the subject" Robin said airily.

L crossed his arms. "We both know that's not what this is. Why are you afraid to talk to him? Outside of the hospital recommendations, you're required to meet with him once every two weeks under your court sentence" he said.

"That was a misunderstanding" Robin grumbled, "and I'm not keen to tell him anything when he parrots it back to you"

He let out a frustrated sigh before turning from the window to face her. "In that instance, it was in a matter of your well being that the two of us communicated to each other. Of course everything you say to him is confidential. Although, that explains why you haven't been saying anything of importance to him" L said.

"Can you blame me for not trusting him now?" Robin asked rhetorically. "And besides, he's woefully under qualified to be a therapist. The man knows nothing of-"

"You can never let people help you, can you?" L asked with an air of indifference. "Do what you will, but you have to keep up your appointments for another two months, lest you be held in contempt of court. And you'd be absolutely useless for this case in a jail cell" he said before crossing the room and leaving quickly through the door.

Robin let out a long frustrated sigh, running a hand through her hair before turning on the shower and laying out her clothes for the day. _I don't need things to get difficult between me and L right now. I have to find some way to tell him about B without sounding like a crazy. I have to find proof of B, while keeping an eye on Light and the new Kira. I don't have time for stupid appointments, especially now that I know I'm not going insane._

**…**

"L," A computer screen exclaimed, lighting up to display Whammy's usual communicative W, "A response from the second Kira has just been sent in" he said.

Ignoring the chorus of surprised and anticipated reactions from the others, L spoke, "Please relay it at once on the computer, and bring the entire materials in the package to the suite at once" he said dryly, placing a long leg over the plush chair in front of the laptop in order to climb over it and regain his usual crouch on the seat. Robin sat lightly on the arm of the chair, Aizawa flanking L's other side, and the rest of the team crowding around the chair in order to get a good view of the laptop as the same Kira screen from the second Kira's last message appeared.

"Mr. Kira, thank you for your reply. I will do exactly as you say" Robin couldn't help but smirk at the scrambled voice, it's words only furthering her 'Kira fan girl' suspicions, while Matsuda and Aizawa let out equal cries of satisfaction at the news. "But, I want to meet you. I don't think you have the eyes, but I won't try to kill you"

Robin's jaw dropped, _The eyes? Like shinigami eyes? B's eyes?_ She thought frantically, hurriedly glancing to Light to observe his own reaction on the subject; a face as surprised and slack-jawed as her own. _He knows! Light has to know what the second Kira means by 'the eyes'!_ Robin thought, just as Light masked his reaction and subtly looked around for anyone who had seen his minor slip up-meeting Robin's eyes for a tense two seconds before quickly re-focusing on the computer.

"Did he just say that Kira 'doesn't have the eyes'?" Aizawa questioned aloud, "What on earth could that mean?"

Robin didn't think to observe L, believing him blind in the knowledge of B's eyes, but L knew very well what B had been capable of. L's eyes blurred as they widened, taking him back to long ago when Whammy's had been fresh and new; before Robin had attended. Before A. When it was just him, and B.

**…**

"Your number changes a lot," B said from the library doorway, "I want to know how you do it"

L was seated, or rather perched, in a plush chair with his back to the door. "I don't know what you're talking about. You're going to have to be more clear" he stated, turning the page of the book he was currently engrossed in. L had few breaks between cases, and he would rather spend it reading than talking to the strange boy that somehow always managed to put him on edge. B made him feel like he was being dissected. The way B liked to play with people and tweak their buttons; to talk to the strange boy was like opening your own head up and inviting him in. L hated it.

"Your number," B said again. "Your death date, L Lawliet"

He dropped the thick book on the carpet, creating a loud thunk that could no doubt be heard downstairs. "How?" L asked, twisting himself around in the chair in order to look at B. "How did you find out my name?"

B was grinning unnervingly, it was too wide to be considered pleasant. "I've always known your name. I know everyone's. I have the eyes after all" and as he spoke, L could have sworn he saw B's eyes flash a bloody sort of red.

The library door was suddenly thrown open, almost hitting B had the boy not possessed such good reflexes. "L, are you alright?" Whammy asked, surveying the room quickly and letting out a sigh of relief when he spotted L sitting in the chair unscathed. "I heard a loud crash. What on earth happened in here?" he asked, looking from L to B curiously.

"L was being clumsy and dropped a book, is all" B stated. "He must have been distracted, I was asking him about the latest case"

L swallowed heavily, unable to take his eyes from B. "Yes, that's right" L said slowly.

Whammy raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, you know you aren't supposed to share cases with others. You signed a confidentiality agreement. But I suppose I can let it go this time, I'm glad to see the two of you bonding" the old man said. L turned around in his seat, trying to ignore the burning feeling in his back that was B's stare, "Anyway, Cookie's prepared supper, so why don't the two of you wash up and come downstairs?" Whammy said, walking back out into the hall.

L had to wait for B to leave the doorway until he could move.

**…**

"Please tell me how I can meet you without the police finding out" the second Kira said from the computer screen, jolting L from his memory at the next words spoken, "When we meet, we can confirm out identities by showing our shinigami to one another"

"Shinigami?" three bewildered detective echoed, their voices drowned out by L's frightened shout. At the sound, Robin jumped up in surprise; the shock of the second Kira's statement momentarily leaving her as she turned to look at L. At the same time as she stood, the detective clattered his chair to the floor amid concerned shouts from the other Kira task force members.

Robin crouched in front of him, "L! What-Are you okay?" she asked hurriedly, his eyes swimming past her and glued to the computer screen in horror.

"S-s-shinigami?" He stuttered out, "Am I supposed to believe that? That shinigami actually exist?" L said in disbelief, head cloudy with the horror stories his Japanese grandmother had gifted him at a young age; stories of monster-spirits, ghosts, and of course the terrifying shinigami.

"No, it's impossible" Aizawa stated, "Their's no way they're real" he said as the room stared collectively at the blank screen; the second Kira's message was over.

"That's right, Ryuzaki, their's no such thing as a shinigami" Light spoke up, and Robin's gaze darted to him almost immediately, her eyes narrowing at him as he continued. "It's just impossible" he said with such a straight face that Robin couldn't help but frown at him.

_I know he's lying! _She thought, _Light knows about 'the eyes'-Now he's denying the existence of shinigami? This case… It involves something much bigger than just us. Some secret Light's keeping… What have I gotten myself into?_

"The first Kira had those criminals in prison write something about shinigami" L stated, obviously still shaken by the message.

"So, shouldn't we assume that this person is the first Kira then?" the chief spoke up, "They say the same things, they must be the same person"

"No, that can't be, dad" Light said, "If it was the same Kira from before, he wouldn't have replied to our video. Their's no way the real Kira would go through so much trouble to get L on TV, and then not kill him."

"But there has to be some sort of connection from the first Kira to the second, for them both to use the word 'shinigami' ….Or maybe the second Kira's just trying to scare us" Aizawa spoke up, and Robin stopped listening.

_The way Light is trying to steer this away by saying it's anything but supernatural… _Robin thought, _I don't believe it at all. _She looked at L, still crouching before him as she did so, and he met her eyes in a away that made her own widen. _He… Doesn't believe Light either, does he? Or maybe he wants to, but… L, I don't buy it either._ She said in her head, as if he could read her thoughts. Attempting to convey her agreement with her expression, Robin gave him a short nod which L seemed to not acknowledge.

"That's simply not possible, Aizawa" L said, getting up off the floor and righting the chair he'd tipped over. "It's as Light says, if the two Kira's were connected, they wouldn't stop trying to kill me" he finished, offering Robin a hand which she gratefully took before L returned to his perch in the chair.

The glance that L gave her as their hands met appeared vacant, but had an underlying conviction that echoed in his tone. He wanted her to go along with Light, at least for now. "I agree" Robin spoke, brushing off her jeans, "The Kira's haven't met yet, the second Kira acted too independently for that to be true. The second Kira was acting out with the first message in hopes to catch the attention of the first so that they could meet"

Light nodded at her, "And 'shinigami' probably refers to the killing power the Kiras possess. 'We can confirm our identities by showing our shinigami to each other' probably means ' we can confirm our identities by showing each other our killing power'" he said.

"That's right" L agreed robotically. "The word 'shinigami' holds some sort of significance between the two Kiras. We should try to get the second Kira to tell us what it means"

"So are you going to respond and force the second to be more direct?" The chief asked.

"No," Robin spoke up, "If we do something like that, the second Kira may suspect that the message wasn't from the real Kira. And who knows what sort of bad things can happen then"

L nodded in agreement, "It's best to leave it to the Kiras from here" he said.

"Wait, leave it to them?" Matsuda asked in confusion.

"Yes. The second Kira has received a message from the 'real' Kira, so she's satisfied. She thinks she's gotten Kira's attention, and they've used a word that only the two of them could understand. When we play this reply on the news, the first Kira will no doubt be watching. He might respond on his own this time" L said.

The chief furrowed his brow, "But, what if the first Kira doesn't respond?" The chief asked.

"The second Kira will most likely get annoyed and frustrated, and probably expose more confidential information about the power her and the first Kira share" Robin stated, knowing that the second Kira held a personality type similar to a spoiled child. "If she doesn't get what she wants, the second Kira will throw a tantrum. Either way, it's a win-win for us" she explained.

"Yes, but it would definitely be more interesting if the first Kira's afraid of that, and sends a reply to prevent it. Then we might be able to get more information from him and samples as we did the second Kira" L said with a smirk, staring at Light all the while; creating a tense body posture from the young suspect. "Now then, we should start on analyzing the new package we've received from the second Kira" he stated before delegating various tasks to the men until Robin, Light, and himself were alone in the room.

Light and L were discussing more theories about the possible meaning of 'shinigami' and 'the eyes' as the second Kira had used them, while Robin was simply standing next to the dessert cart and wracking her brain for strategies to enlighten L on her own theory. _If the eyes allow someone to see another person's name and death date, then is it possible that the second Kira choose her victims biased on the fact that they would conveniently die at the same time? No, the real Kira definitely has the power to kill; and the second pretty much said that the only difference between them was that Kira#1 doesn't have the eyes. But then the question is, what's giving them the power to kill? _Robin wondered, staring at her tea as it slowly grew cold.

_If the second made a deal with a shinigami to get the eyes, could she have also made a deal for it to kill for her? Could Light have made a deal with a shinigami like that, but refused the eyes? But, if the eyes are so powerful, why would he…? _Robin frowned as she recalled the main points of Kira's criminal profile. _He want's to create a new world, and with Kira's power, he would undoubtedly rule that world. But if he gave up half his life for the shinigami eyes, he might not be able to complete his vision. That's why Light didn't want to do it, and that's why he doesn't want to kill the second Kira! Because, with her eyes, he can kill criminals twice as fast! _Robin concluded, smiling at her realization before jumping at a hand on her arm.

It was Light, his face a mask of concern. "You've been awfully quiet since the message ended, Robin" he said.

Robin felt a knot of unease grow in her stomach at the feeling of his hand on her, and quickly darted her eyes around the room in search of L. "I've just been thinking. When did L leave?" Robin asked, keeping her voice calm and casual despite of the panic that was starting to bubble up inside her. Something about Light scared her, something in him reminded her of B, and the close contact they were currently involved in was making her nervous.

"Why didn't you share your thoughts with Ryuzaki and me?" Light asked innocently, "He went to the kitchen to get some snacks, since Watari is busy with the rest of the team right now"

Her throat was dry, and Robin hoped that her nervous swallowing went unnoticed by Light. "I've only been coming up with half-baked things. Not really worthy to hear" she said dismissively.

"Oh, come on, I'd love to hear it. I'm not like Ryuzaki, I won't judge you so harshly" he said with a kind smile that made her sick.

"Let's wait for L to come back, then we can all discuss it. No matter how ridiculous" Robin said, trying to shake off the feeling she was like a rabbit caught in a trap; but Light's hand still on her shoulder made the comparison all the more real.

"Speaking of you and Ryuzaki, their's something I've been wondering," Light said. "The two of you aren't really involved with each other are you? That was just an act in order to get close to me, right?"

"Um… yes... We only said that for the investigation" Robin said hesitantly, bewildered at where he was taking the conversation.

The smile that Light put on was exactly the same as the one when they'd first met; when Robin had, quite literally, ran into him. It was his 'charming' smile. "Well, that's good news then" he said.

His words strangely alarmed her, "What do you mean?" Robin asked in confusion.

"There are few girls I've encountered that are on par with my intelligence, and can carry on a conversation easily with me" Light said.

_What? But you've been so dismissive of me up until now. Light, you've always directed your questions and comments to L; no matter if I've asked them or not… _Robin thought, furrowing her brow. "I was under the impression that you didn't think I was very bright, or valuable to this case in general" she said.

Light chuckled lightly. "That's not it at all, Robin. You're refreshing, but also intimidating. I'm really just working up the guts to talk to you now" he said, something flickering in his expression that told her he was annoyed that she'd pointed his previous behavior out.

_Something isn't right about this, Light's only playing nice. But what is he trying to accomplish here?_ Robin had to admit that she was curious as to where this was going, no matter how confusing it was. "Oh" she stated simply in reply.

"I'm sorry, you're probably wondering what my point is" Light said, glancing away from her and running a hand through his hair in a show of practiced nervousness. "I'd like to take you out" he said finally.

Robin was floored, annoyed, and thoroughly amused all at the same time. _This is his idea to get more information out of me? Or, to learn more about me so he can take me down? What, does he think I'm really that stupid? He really thinks he can manipulate women that easily? With a stupid smile and a fake blush?_ "Wow, I'm sorry Light, but I'm going to have to decline" Robin said.

Light's expression was entirely surprised rather than disappointed. "Oh, I… Why? I'm sorry, are you dating someone else?" he asked, eyebrows raised so much that they were hidden behind his hair.

She wasted no time on thinking, or devising some other answer, or considering the simple statement 'because I don't think of you that way'; and simply blurted the first thing that came to her tongue. "Because I have feelings for L"

"Well, that's certainly interesting" said a voice from the doorway, making the two of them immediately jump and turn to spot none other than the world's first-class detective.

**A/N: I've decided to hold a contest! (Inspired by the one I saw going on at NothingsXSorrow's page. Yes I am a creep that checks out the profiles of the people who fav and review.) The 20th**** reviewer of Fragaria will be awarded with their choice of either a Oneshot, or a fully colored/inked/ect. drawing of whatever character they'd like. (For example, you could request a pic of Matt, or a pic of your OC, or whatever!) So, keep those reviews coming in! If you'd like to see examples of how I draw, feel free to click the homepage link on my profile which'll send you to the photo bucket where I post all my story-related art. -Luv, Cart**


	13. Chapter 13

"L!" Robin said in surprise, mortified but willing her brain to think quickly. "Well, this isn't how I wanted to tell you at all" she said, and once again Robin found herself thankful of her body's lack of blush.

L was stoic, completely unreactive to the situation at hand. "I see" he simply stated, both his voice and his face blank and unreadable to Robin.

"I… Can we talk privately?" Robin asked.

Light looked both shocked and embarrassed at the situation, letting go of her shoulder quickly almost as if she had burnt him. "I'll leave the two of you alo-"

"No, we'll go" Robin said, fearing the possibility of Light listening to their conversation with his ear pressed against the door. "If the chief or anyone comes looking for us, just tell them we'll be back shortly" she said, linking her arm with L's and towing him from the room and down the hall into her own bedroom.

Once inside, she locked the door before turning and interestedly noting L's confused and slightly horrified expression. "I don't intend to deflower you, relax" Robin said with amusement.

L shot her a look between insulted and amused, "I've been-I'm perfectly relaxed" he said, appearing apprehensive all the same.

"Look, I'm sorry, Light's creepy. It was the first thing I could think of to get him off my back," Robin supplied hurriedly, retrieving the supernatural books from her nightstand as she spoke and causing her to miss L's reaction to her words. "But their's something more important I wanted to talk to you about, I've been doing some research" she said. "You're probably not going to like it, but the language that the second Kira used fits so perfectly that I can't ignore this theory anymore"

L joined her on the bed, crouching curiously beside her as she cracked open _Shinigami Dissected_, "These were the books you were hiding?" he questioned.

"Oh, yeah, I…" Robin trailed off sheepishly, wondering if now was the time to tell him about B as well.

_There's no telling how he could react, though. I could just tell him my theory about Kira and the Shinigami, and see how he takes it. That way, if he's willing to give something so strange a chance, it could be likely he'll listen to me about B too. _She thought, nodding to herself when she reached her conclusion.

"I didn't want you to think I was being a fool. But, the words that the second Kira used; 'the eyes' and 'shinigami'… Well, I've learned a lot about this legend regarding shinigami eyes and, in context, it really could be what she's talking about" Robin said, her only reply from L being a stare as he interestedly cocked his head to the side. "The people who wrote this book seem to think that a shinigami can make a deal with a human to trade their eyes for half of the human's remaining life. After the human obtains the eyes, they can see the birth name and death date of whomever they look at. Considering that the second Kira can kill people just by seeing their face, it's possible that 'the eyes' are how the second Kira's getting her victim's true names" Robin finished.

L stared at her for a few minutes, increasing her nervousness that the long silence following her words already created. "And you assume that both Kiras have somehow made contact with these shinigami and persuaded them into killing people of their choosing?" he asked.

Robin nodded, "Yes, only the reason that the first Kira has to kill upon seeing a name and a face is because he refused the trade of 'the eyes'. The value of the second Kira's own eyes is enough to stop Light from pushing harder to find her and eliminate her. He's going to try to work with her, and judging by her devotion she'll agree hopelessly, so it's imperative we stop them from actually meeting. There's gotta be some way we can stop them, but realize the signs of the second Kira at the same time…" she trailed off as L held up his hands in a 'slow down' motion.

"Let's backtrack a bit here," L said, "I'm willing to admit that this theory fits, but it leaves a lot of holes. Why would the shinigami agree to help either Light or the second Kira? When we had Light's room under surveillance, how was the shinigami he was no doubt consorting with invisible to us? How do you know any of the myths printed in that book are even accurate?"

"I… Well, why do we do anything? The shinigami surely must have motivations of their own, or they must have made a greater trade with Light and the second Kira. Their's no way to really know any of that yet" Robin said, brow furrowing as she though of the rest of the questions. "The second book there, _Shinto, Shamanism, and the way of the gods_, said that all supernatural entities are virtually unnoticeable to humans unless they want to make themselves known. If that's true, then the shinigami would probably only want itself to be known to Light. Or, if the shinigami is taking orders from Light on who to kill, it's possible that it could be taking orders on who to be visible to. However, as far as the book goes, I obtained it from a highly reliable shopkeeper in-"

L cut her off with a foreign look marring his features. An emotion that Robin couldn't place. "Listen, while your initiative in this research is admirable, you sound thoroughly insane" he stated.

Robin frowned at him, tossing the thick book in her hand on the bed between them in frustration. "I know! I know I sound like a fucking lunatic, but this fits, L! I mean, you've seen a lot of shocking cases in your time, how is it impossible for you to believe this?" she asked.

"I never said I don't believe you" he stated, "but that is precisely the problem. My superstitious nature shouldn't have any effect on this case, and when I look at your theory objectively, it would seem absurd by anyone else's standards. There is not nearly enough proof for me to agree with you, no matter if I believe you or not"

She stared at him, biting her lip in frantic thought, "Well, then give me some time to find some! I can prove it, I know I can. I'm right about this, I can just feel it" Robin stated confidently.

"As it stands now, you've neglected several meetings with Mr. Frederick. Given your theory, I'm afraid that a psych evaluation is required at this time" L said softly.

Robin's eyes widened as she stared at him slack-jawed. "But, you just said that you believed me! My theory is backed by extensive research-I don't think reading is a trait of many budding psych ward patients! I know it sounds odd, but how can you-?" she exclaimed rapidly before pausing to catch her breath, his words leaving her utterly hopeless.

"I think you should leave the case" L said.

Her heart seems to stop beating for a moment; the only thing she could hear was a rushing in her brain, leaving her able to do nothing but gape and stare at the detective. "E-e-excuse me?" Robin finally manages to croak out.

L is still, his unblinking eyes almost feel like they're swallowing her up in scrutiny. "At least for the present. Your mental state is clearly unfit to continue" he said.

"No," she says, standing so quickly she wobbles on her own uncertain feet. "No, you can't just kick me off like that"

"I can," L said. "and I have"

Robin's body wavers, caught between the need to sit and her determination to prove herself as capable. "Be reasonable for once!" she said, "What am I supposed to do now? Where do I go?" she asks, more to herself than the hunched detective.

"Go back to LA, go home" L answers, and she suddenly wants to take a swing at him because _doesn't he know LA is that last place on earth I ever want to be again? _She thinks in a near-panic.

"I can't go back," Robin said, gasping for breath and fixing him with a pleading look while wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to stop her panicked shaking.

L looks away from her, hides his eyes under his hair, "That's not my concern. Please promptly gather your belongings and make your exit. If I'm forced to, I'll get security to remove you" he said, getting up from the bed and nearly making it halfway across the room before he feels the yanking on his arm.

Robin's clutching him desperately and exerting a look that makes his chest ache. "Please, don't…" she said, before swallowing hard and re-doubling her thoughts. He's noticed her shaking now, she's nearly hyperventilating as well. "I can't go back there. And I can't be alone again. I want…" it's getting harder and harder for her to say it now, "Please don't push me away, you're all I have" His face is stoic, and it's pure fear that gives her enough courage to push on. "I have my doubts about myself. I know I'm walking a thin line here, I know B's screwed me up a lot-and I know it's breaking me, but this case-you. It's all so solid… I finally have something stable…" she struggled to find the right words, and at the same time her hand somehow curls around his. "I need you" she finished, looking up at him desperately with a breathless silence.

His lips on hers, as sudden as the shock it sends down her spine. Robin jolts at his touch, flinches at his hands holding her face, balks at his sugary-sweet taste in her mouth; her whole body rejects him. But by the end, when his eyes slowly open to her own, Robin is struck with a sense that it's all _right_. With a gasp, Robin realizes she's crying and her fingertips fly to her eyelashes in disbelief. L says nothing, but only accepts her in bewilderment as she curls into his chest, softly stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry" he nearly whispers, and her fingers curl in the fabric of his shirt as the majority of her quick tears dissolved into sniffles. "That was highly inappropriate of me. Please stop crying" L said softly.

Robin almost wanted to laugh. "No. I'm… glad" she said, leaning back in his arms to smile faintly up at him.

"You mean to say, you reciprocate?" L asked, unable to hide his relief from her as it ebbed out of his stoic expression.

She looked down, observing their feet framing each other; her between his, in order to allow them close proximity. It was something they had both done unconsciously. "Yes" Robin finally stated, looking back up at the detective. "It would be less troublesome if I lied, but I can't. If I was completely honest with myself, I've been thrilled to be by your side ever since this case began. Hell, when we pretended to be involved with each other for Light's sake, I was jealous of any other girl's advances towards you. I wrote it off. I didn't want to realize what I was feeling. Even after all these years, and what B did, it still seems like cavorting with the enemy" she finished.

L's expression darkened. "How is it that B could get through to you so thoroughly, but I can't? I'm not your enemy"

"I know," Robin said with a sigh, avoiding his eyes. "I just… You know, it would be easier for you if you favored literally anyone else on this planet except for me"

"No. It wouldn't," L said, with such conviction that her eyes were drawn to him as he spoke. "Their's something about you that's interested me ever since we were children. At this point, it would be torture for anyone else to occupy my thoughts"

She raised her brows in surprise, "That was actually… Quite a cute thing to say…" Robin stated in disbelief.

L smiled down at her, his arms drawing her closer, "May I kiss you again?" he asked, his smile growing as she answered with a shy nod.

A knock on the door interrupted them, and the old man was unable to hide the smile in his distinctive voice. "I hate to interrupt you two, but there's something that you need to see right away"

They parted quickly, rushing to the door in embarrassment. "We were comparing theories, you weren't interrupting anything that can't be taken up later" L stated as he opened the door with Robin by his side, both of them wearing equal expressions of nonchalance.

Whammy's eyes seemed to sparkle with the sense of knowing, "Of course" he assured, grinning at them before his expression turned more serious as he said his next words. "However, the second Kira has made a reply. I've connected the transmission to your laptop, and it's ready to play as soon as you return to the living room where the task force is gathered"

Without a word, the two of them hurried down the hall and halted the light chatter of the room as they entered. "Ryuzaki, Watari has intercepted the tape that-"

L cut the chief off as he sat down on the couch before the laptop. "I'm aware. Let's watch, shall we?" he asked rhetorically, pushing the play button as the task force scrambled to get a good view of the screen. Robin quickly sat next to L on the couch, ignoring the stare Light was giving her from L's other side.

"Kira, I asked you to let me know how we can meet, but you've failed to deliver. As such, I'm taking it upon myself. Please broadcast what's enclosed with this video" The scrambled second Kira's voice said before the short message ended.

"A page from a diary-planner was the only other item in the package" Whammy said, placing the sheet in L's fingertips.

Robin leaned over his shoulder, scanning the page along with L. "Last years diary… The 30th stands out straight away. 'We confirmed our shinigami at the Tokyo Bowl'" the detective stated, turning his gaze to observe Light as he gave him the sheet.

Light took a considerable amount of time looking over the paper before he finally spoke, "Well, that's definitely an idiotic thing to do" he said.

"Doesn't the second Kira understand that the police will infiltrate the Tokyo Bowl in order to catch both of them? Stating something so bluntly isn't a very good strategy" Matsuda chimed in.

"To be honest, it's so stupid that I'm not sure how to deal with it" L said exasperatedly, "If we broadcast the diary page, then the game on the 30th will be canceled, and all the surrounding areas will be monitored by the police. On the other hand, if we don't broadcast this, the second Kira could get angry. No matter how stupid they are, the second Kira is definitely dangerous"

Robin frowned in frustration, "So, you're saying that we have no choice either way?" she asked.

L nodded, "Yes. We'll broadcast the diary, and then announce that the game is canceled in order to investigate along the roads and areas around the stadium" he said.

"You don't really think that the second and first Kiras would be dumb enough to meet at the stadium even though we'll announce all that?" the chief asked in surprise.

"The real Kira, no. But the second Kira? I'm not so sure. I can't tell how smart she is" L stated. "And assuming that I'm underestimating her, the note does have other meeting possibilities. There are other locations listed in the diary; the 22nd meeting a friend at Aoyama, the 24th meeting a friend in Shibuya. The two specifically mention a notebook at Aoyama and clothing shopping in Shibuya. The best thing to do would be to place more surveillance cameras at these locations and send undercover officers on those dates"

Robin frowned, tapping her finger to her lips in deep frustrated thought. _Their's no mention of the eyes, like before, only of the shinigami. But surely this Kira isn't stupid enough to be so obvious like that? One of the other two locations have to be the real meet-up, but which one? Their's nothing really unusual about either of them, studying with a friend and shopping with a friend are both normal things. Well, if I was studying with someone it wouldn't be in a crowded place like Aoyama… _She smiled to herself at the thought, _That's it! I wouldn't go there to study at all, but the crowds would be great for diverting suspicion from oneself. 'Notebook' has got to fit in somewhere with the other words only the two Kiras know. It's barely suspicious, but I'm more inclined to believe the real meeting place is Aoyama!_

"I volunteer for Aoyama!" Robin declared, interrupting Matsuda's own proposal.

The task force looked surprised, except for Matsuda, who was at best slightly taken aback at her sudden outburst. "Why only Aoyama? You're certainly young enough to fit in at both places, even if you are a foreigner" Matsuda asked, puzzled.

"It's just a hunch" Robin assured before turning her attention to L. "I want to be part of the undercover police in Aoyama, please"

L was staring blankly at her, "Absolutely not. You're not affiliated with the law in any way. Should a situation arise, you'd have to proceed like a civilian" he stated.

Robin narrowed her eyes at him, "Well, what else would I do? Filing papers and compiling information is helpful, but doesn't utilize the extent of my abilities-which, may I remind you, is why you hired me for this case. Besides, both of us took that Capoeira class. I can defend myself just fine" she pointed out.

"You'll be observing the locations through the surveillance cameras with me in order to assure that neither of us miss anything" L stated.

"No. You know as well as I do that I'm much better at analysis in person, it's easier for me to read-" Robin halted momentarily, giving Light a sideways glance as she remembered that-under no circumstances-would it be good to have him find out about her true skills for the case. "I'll be able to perform better if I'm there in person. I'm only requesting to be allowed to go to Aoyama. Matsuda would be there to help me out with his badge if it's really necessary" she said.

L stared sharply at her for a long time before he spoke, "Do you understand the extent of the risk you're taking? The second Kira can kill with just a name and a face. If you're suspected of being with the police, or in opposition to Kira, you could be killed instantly. Do you understand?" he asked, the deadly seriousness of his voice making her nerves twinge at the prospect of the trip and it's consequences.

"That's not necessarily true, Ryuzaki" Light spoke up suddenly, gathering all attention to him. "Remember that our Kira message ordered the second Kira to stop killing innocent people unless the first told her to. There's really a very little chance of something awful happening, since the second Kira is so heavily devoted to the first"

Light's words were met with a dark glare from the detective. "There is still a 30% chance that both outings could result in death" L stated, ignoring Matsuda's sudden paling at the statement.

"I volunteer to go to both Aoyama and Shibuya, that way Robin can have one more person to protect her" Light said, before continuing in a scolding tone. "Honestly Robin seems like she can take care of herself very well, and to insist on her staying behind is kind of sexist, Ryuzaki"

Robin stared at Light outright, and if it wasn't so easy to keep her emotions in check, she would have laughed in his face then-and-there. _Sexist? This coming from the guy that tried to weasel information out of me only hours ago by inviting me out on a date? Light, who thinks he can manipulate apparently any woman with his looks and some bullshit charm, just called L sexist? _Robin thought in disbelief, wrenching her stare from him as L spoke.

"Never twist my words in order to add gravity to your argument, Light" L said almost bitterly, his expression clearly stating that he would rather accompany his words with a fist to Light's face.

Robin cleared her throat. "I realize the risks here, but my presence at Aoyama outweighs them. Besides, if I were to be killed in Aoyama, it would give you a great lead to finding the second Kira. During both the Shibuya date and the Stadium date, I will maintain video surveillance as you request. Just, please give me this one" The task force seemed stunned by her level-headed proposition, and judging by her past childish arguments with L, they were in the right to be so shocked.

"You will stay in the company of Matsuda at all times. All three of you will receive updated alert belts to contact Watari, and both Robin and Light will be granted small firearms" L stated finally.

Just as he was about to grin and thank him profusely, Robin was interrupted by the Chief. "Now hold on a minute. Light, I don't know if I agree with you going on such a dangerous outing like this. Especially not with a weapon."

"Please dad, I go to both Shibuya and Aoyama all the time with my friends" Light halted as an idea appeared to dawn on him. "Actually, I could probably get few friends to go with us. That way, it would seem even more natural"

Most of the task force grumbled at this idea, especially the Chief. But in the end it was agreed that Matsuda, Robin, and Light would make the trip to Aoyama-Robin being absent for Shibuya. Shortly after they agreed, the task force began to break up and get ready to return to their respective homes for the night. Once the hotel suite was empty, and Whammy was cleaning the dishes of the day in the kitchen, L approached Robin.

"Aoyama will be dangerous" He said, standing by her side as the two of them gazed out the large window overlooking the Tokyo streets below.

Robin frowned at the glass, "I know. It's not like I haven't been in life-threatening situations before" she stated.

"What B did to you is nothing like this. If Kira were to kill you, it would be instant. Nothing like the torture B put you through" L said, a hard fierceness in his voice that made Robin softly smile at the safe feeling it created.

"I wasn't really talking about that. You forget I've worked with the police before. I've seen the most volatile schizophrenics, people strung-out and babbling insanely on drugs, even listened to the ranting of a sick pedophile for three hours until we found the girl he kidnapped" Robin said quietly. "It's true that I've never done something this covert, but I'm not scared. I won't regret my decision. The reason I became a psychologist was to help people. I want to stop Kira, and this is just the best way for me to help right now"

An arm crept around her waist, pulling her side to his as they stared at the bright city bustling below them. "Just be careful"

"Of course"

"And keep an eye on Light"

"Definitely"


	14. Chapter 14

Robin fanned herself lightly, sighing with exhaustion from the afternoon heat. "Light, where are we meeting your friends at again?" she asked impatiently. With all the time she'd spent cooped up inside, Robin was unaccustomed to the summer heat, and the weather seemed to effect her more than it did the two men accompanying her.

"Right here. Don't worry, they'll be here soon" Light supplied, giving her another one of the many odd looks he'd granted her on the way over in Matsuda's car. "Those sunglasses make you look like you're blind" he commented with a smirk.

Tugging at the waist of her white sundress, that was clinging to her skin with a sheen of sweat, Robin frowned. "_He_ insisted that I wear them. They keep about a third of my face hidden-hopefully that's enough-without being too suspicious. I figured I could play it off like they're in fashion in the US, since I'm obviously foreign" she said, adjusting the large black sunglasses as she spoke.

"Ryuzaki really cares about you, huh?" Matsuda commented with a wide smile.

Robin turned her head abruptly to look at him. "It's nothing like what you're insinuating. We've just known each other for a long time. I'm only his comrade, after all-"

Much to her appreciation, Robin was interrupted by a loud friendly call. "Hey, Yagami! Long time no see!" a teenager, part of large group, greeted as the teens approached the three.

"You're always studying and whatnot, it feels like we never get to see you anymore! You got real serious at university-" the talkative man stopped, staring at both Robin and Matsuda before a grin broke out on his face. "Oh, I see! You've got yourself a girlfriend now! That's why we never see you!"

Robin tried not to sneer or laugh at the notion, "It's nothing like that. I'm a foreign exchange student at the university, Light just helps me out a lot" Of course her lie was believable enough, what with Light constantly playing his good Samaritan act. "I'm Robin Sterling, it's nice to meet you"

The man's eyes seemed to brighten at the news. "Oh! In that case, welcome to Japan. I'm Satou, Jun. that's… uh, last name and then first in Japan" Jun said, shaking her hand.

Robin cocked her head to the side, smiling slightly with amusement as she noticed through Jun's body language that he was obviously hoping for a romantic pursuit of her. "You can let go of my hand now, Jun" she commented upon noting the several seconds of prolonged contact outside of the necessary norm to create friendship. Jun broke the bond with an embarrassed blush, that soon went unnoticed as a girl from the group spoke up.

"Did you say your name was Robin _Sterling_?" A girl from the group asked, her eyebrows knotted as if she was trying to concentrate on something. "Why does that sound so familiar?" the girl wondered aloud.

The sharp increase of Robin's focus went unnoticed thanks to her dark sunglasses, but her gaze fell harshly on the girl all the same. "I don't know why it would, I've only been in Japan a few months" Robin said with a laugh, trying to brush off the attention.

"No, Aki's right, I feel like I've heard that in… maybe a book somewhere?" A bespeckled man in the group said with an equal expression of thought on his features as the girl, Aki, displayed.

_Shit, are these students psych majors? They could have read one of my books or studies… and if they reveal my expertise to Light-! I might never get anything from his expressions again! _Robin thought, gritting her teeth. "Oh, how rude of me!" She suddenly said, as if really forgetting something. "Light, we forgot to introduce Taro!" Robin said, indicating Matsuda. Her brief glance at Light told her that he would much rather continue with the other's discussion, but she pressed on none-the-less. "Everyone, this is Taro. He's a student auditor in one of our classes-so you can tell how smart he is. And, he's looking for a girlfriend, ladies~!" Robin said, patting Matsuda on the shoulder playfully. "Anyone want to volunteer?" she said jokingly, easing up the group with a collective laugh.

"Hey, come on, Robin!" Matsuda exclaimed with an embarrassed blush.

The lighthearted teasing seemed to break up what little tension there was, and Light introduced the rest of the group to Robin and Matsuda. There were only two couples, Nana and Dai as well as Hiro and Natsumi, leaving the rest of the party; Aki, Manami, Kenta, and Jun labeled as single-although it was obvious that Kenta (the man with glasses) was interested only in Aki. Soon after the introductions finished, the group collectively decided to wander down the street until they spotted something interesting to occupy their time.

Both Manami and Aki almost immediately fell into step beside Matsuda and began talking about the challenge of 'auditing a class'-obviously, Matsuda claimed it was a criminal justice course to save himself. It was something Robin found only mildly annoying, since he was supposed to be keeping his eyes peeled instead of chatting up 18-year-olds; but she shrugged it off since it was highly likely Matsuda would discover nothing of importance either way.

Light stayed positioned in between the two couples, giving the appearance of actively socially participating although his eyes never left his surroundings when he contributed to the conversation. Robin had successfully wedged herself almost directly behind him, as to keep both him and any suspicious passerby easily within her view. It satisfactorily served her purposes of searching the crowd until Jun appeared beside her with enough small talk fodder to distract her from the mission at hand.

"So, how do you like Japan so far? Is it anything like you'd thought it would be?" Jun asked, smiling at her.

As much as his attraction amused her, Robin found the mild diversion from her work annoying. "It's much hotter than I thought. Being an island, I should have expected the humidity. Although the weather is a lot more favorable in Tokyo" Robin said offhandedly, her eyes skimming the crowd with ease despite the social obligation her brain was forming with Jun.

"Oh, you didn't live near the ocean at home, huh? Oh wait, let me guess… You're from… Hmm…" he comically drew his hypothesis out. "Blue eyes, blonde hair, pretty tall, great figure… Sweden?"

Robin considered the possibility he was attempting flattery, but it was a weak attempt since-in her opinion-her American accent was much more pronounced than the remaining soft tones of her British one. Or perhaps it simply sounded garbled to the untrained ear. After all, she was a British person with an American accent speaking Japanese-something that would probably throw even translators off. "Ah, quite far off actually. I lived in LA, in the US, before I came here" she answered.

Jun faked a comical depression from his off-base answer. "It can't be helped. You don't seem like an American. They're represented as pretty obnoxious in movies and TV-even in the shows that come from there. You're too sweet to seem American" he said.

A teenage blonde girl, dressed in a laid-back pair of jeans and a t-shirt, was staring at Light. "I see" Robin muttered in answer, her eyes intensely locked on the girl before she realized the blonde was only staring at Light's looks; made obvious as she turned to her friends and giggled loudly after talking rapidly in a hushed tone.

Evidently, Robin had sounded disinterested, which Jun immediately picked up on-and caused him to re-double his efforts. "So, you must be in a lot of Light's classes to know him so well. Are you studying to become a police officer, too?" he asked, grasping for something to catch her attention.

"…Uh… No. I'm going more towards the field of a criminal lab technician" Robin thought hurriedly, making no mention of psychology since she was fully aware that Light could be eavesdropping.

"Oh! Like those crime scene shows?" Jun asked. "I love that one about the detective and the lab guy, where they go around like Sherlock Holmes and Watson solving crimes"

"It's actually not as exciting as it looks on TV" Robin commented, "Lab techs barely make contact with policemen, or suspects. They basically just go out into the field and analyze the scene"

"Hm" Jun said in response, letting a silence draw over them.

Robin reveled in the prospect that he'd given up on her, at the same time racking her brain for ways to cease his advances without being rude. "Uh, so what kind of music do you like?" Jun asked suddenly, making her loose track of another possible suspect in the crowd.

Frustrated, Robin allowed her voice to address him as unemotionally as possible. "Classical mostly. Occasionally jazz if I'm feeling a little crazy" she stated, thinking of the most boring music.

Jun brightened, "I'm in a jazz-ska band! You should hear us play sometime!" he said excitedly.

"Oh… that… definitely sounds enjoyable…" Robin stated in surprise, shifting her attention to Light's expression. Judging by his apprehensive expression, even he hadn't noticed a Kira2 candidate yet.

"So, besides that, what do you like to do for fun?" Jun asked.

Since musicians were typically involved in more creative right-brained activity, Robin rapidly thought of the most opposite thing imaginable. "Rock climbing. But not rock walls, actual mountains. That's why I lived in LA, real close to hiking trails and stuff. I train a lot, too. For triathlons. Although, that's more serious. Marathons are typically my 'fun time'" she stated.

"Wow, I've never met someone that driven before! It sounds really exciting. I could never do stuff like that. I'm more of a lazy, curl up with a good book kinda person" Jun said with a smile. "You know what they say though, opposites attract" he said with a teasing nudge.

Robin gritted her teeth in frustration, _If I have to continue keeping up with this conversation, there's no way I'll be able to accurately scan the crowd-and watch Light, too! It's too many things to keep track of! _"Is anyone else getting hungry?" she asked, thankful as Matsuda jumped into the conversation.

"You bet! All this walking is exhausting!" he chimed in, the girls sticking eagerly to his side.

"I know! There's a really great café around here, I used to go to it all the time when Momoko lived here" Aki spoke up, "what was it called again? …Blue… something about music… Blue…"

"Blue note?" Light asked, Robin's ears immediately perking up at the familiar word.

_Notebook? _Robin thought, _Blue… Note?_

"Yeah, that's it!" Aki exclaimed. "how did you know?"

Robin let out a grin, _If anything, Light's just confirmed my suspicion about the word 'notebook'. it has to be the codeword that both of the Kira's know…_

"It's up there, on the sign" Light said, dashing Robin's hypothesis almost immediately.

_Damn it… or it could just be a coincidence…_ she thought with a frown.

The group crowded inside the small café, barely managing to fit everyone into a large booth in the corner. "Hey, you guys scoot over, I'm nearly falling off!" Manami exclaimed, allowing Jun the excuse to squish almost intimately close to Robin.

"So, Robin, I'm curious, why did you decide to move to Japan to study?" Kenta spoke up, flanking Robin's other side, as everyone else at the table lapsed either into their own conversations, or the silent studying of the menu.

"The university is pretty prestigious here" Robin stated, pretending to glance at her menu while surveying the customers of the café. It was the usual fare of civilians, each of them engrossed in each other except for a short-haired brunette schoolgirl; who was covertly shooting Light looks whenever he stopped scanning his surroundings in order to look at a friend and carry on a conversation.

_Definitely suspicious, _Robin thought as she noted that the cameras L controlled outside would do nothing to catch the girl's behavior. _hmm, no surveillance cameras we could confiscate inside this tiny café either…_

"Well certainly there are prestigious universities in America, too?" Kenta pressed, startling her from her thoughts.

Robin barely acknowledged his words, keeping her head tilted towards her menu so as not to alert the brunette that she was being watched. "I suppose. But the travel aspect appealed to me as well" she stated.

"Your parents don't mind you living so far from home?" Kenta asked. "Surely it must make you homesick as well?"

Something in his tone was too light, Kenta was forcing himself to be casual, and it made warning bells go off for Robin. She wanted to survey his face, but the brunette was more important. "My parents? They don't…" The schoolgirl was already beginning to leave, muttering to herself as she gathered her things, and Robin quickly let her sentence trail off.

"Hey, Kenta, lay off, you don't have to interrogate-" Jun began, but Robin cut him off.

"Actually, I should call my parents. I'm supposed to check in everyday, excuse me" Robin said; Jun, Matsuda, and his fan club scooting out of her way in order to let her out of the booth. The brunette suspect was unassumingly paying her tab as Robin walked past her.

Robin retrieved the cell phone from her pocket as she walked outside, standing just out of view from the café windows as she pretended to text and subtly snapped pictures of the brunette girl making her way out of the café. After noting the exact time, so as to review camera footage with L later and get more snapshots of the brunette girl, Robin turned towards the café doors.

Only to find Kenta blocking her path, leaning against the wall casually and smoking a cigarette. "Your parents don't seem very talkative" he commented smugly. "But I understand, seeing as they aren't alive"

Robin slowly placed her cell phone back into her purse, her fingers grazing the gun concealed inside that L had given her. "I think you're confused, Kenta" she said, feeling herself tense as he spoke.

"I didn't know who you were at first, it's hard to recognize you with those sunglasses on, but Aki reminded me. That girl, always coming through for me" Kenta continued. "Robin Steele. Aki and I did a research paper on your last case; the Wara Ninyo murders? Fascinating stuff, I doubt someone without your expertise would have survived. You're not as well known to the common man as L or Coil is, but you're still famous to someone like me. I'm majoring in criminal psychology, just like you did for your degree. Well, one of your degrees."

She ignored the chill that ran down her spine at the mention of the LABB case, as well as the unsettling feeling Kenta was beginning to give her. "You have me mistaken for someone else" Robin stated.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else" Kenta assured eagerly. "But you can't fool me. You're not here to study, not with how many degrees you have. For someone like you to be here, it has to be a case. It's Kira, isn't it? You're tied with L-the Wara Ninyo case made that obvious-L was working on that, the files wouldn't have been under so much protection for any other reason" he continued excitedly.

Robin looked away from Kenta and towards the bell chime from the café's front door, alarmed to see that it was Jun evidently coming to look for them. Before Jun could look down the street their way, she gripped Kenta's arm and yanked him into the nearest alleyway before shoving him against the wall to stop his cry of surprise. "Fuck!" Robin cursed quietly as the cigarette Jun had been smoking tumbled from his lips and struck her on the arm before falling to the dirty alley pavement. "Look, I don't know what you want from me, but-"

Kenta cut her off quickly, his momentary fear from her violent actions gone. "I want to work the case with you! If you don't let me, I'll tell everyone who you are and blow your cover" he winced as Robin shoved him harder against the wall. "Hey, I don't want to, but you wouldn't let me any other way. You've got to let me help you. It would be a dream come true!"

Robin scowled at him. "This isn't a case for an inexperienced student. It's not even my place to put anyone on the team, it's _his-_"

"Eh, do you mean L-" Robin cut Kenta off quickly by slamming a hand over his mouth.

"Shut it!" she exclaimed. "You idiot, do you know how many criminals-or rivals of him-would be after me if they heard I had even a faint connection to him? You even said it so casually in the street, too!" Robin said, taking a worried look into the alley opening as a few pedestrians walked by obliviously. "This place isn't secure in the slightest. Not to mention that you knew I was under-fucking-cover, you numbskull. We can't talk here, weather I want you to work on the case or not. Do you understand?"

Kenta nodded his head slowly in her grasp.

"Good" Robin said. "Now, it's likely that the team saw me pull you in here so I have no doubt that-"

"Robin?" Matsuda said from the entrance of the alley; it was only until he walked closer to them that she could tell his gun was out and at the ready. "Is everything alright?"

"Stow your weapon, he isn't a physical threat" Robin stated, noticing Kenta pale as he saw Matsuda's gun.

Factoring in that her language meant that Kenta had figured something about them out, Matsuda continued. "Ryuzaki was worried. He wanted me to check on you, and he definitely wants to know what's going on" he said, still gripping his gun.

Robin glanced from the gun to Kenta. "He knows much more than he should. Ryuzaki will want to take him into custody" she stated.

Matsuda's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "But on what charges? We can't just-"

"We have to. He knows about me. My connection to Ryuzaki" Robin stated. "We'll be taking him in under witness protection, and we need Aki too, since they did research together. The only question is how Ryuzaki will want to proceed without making it obvious. It's no doubt that their classmates mustn't know we're taking them"

Matsuda nodded, although not seeming to understand that Robin meant that _Light_ shouldn't be informed of the abducting; only she didn't want to say so in front of Kenta and give him a reason to suspect Light, in case he was released. As it was, Kenta already knew enough information that could get him killed.

"Go back inside. Stay calm. If the others ask, you saw me and Kenta walking off and flirting or something. They'll leave us alone" Robin said as she repositioned herself, keeping her lower arm pressed tightly against Kenta's windpipe in order to keep him quiet while freeing her other hand to grab her cell phone. "I'll call Ryuzaki"

**I know, I know; haven't updated this story in forever, ended this chapter in a weird place-had hardly any L action in it… But, what do you know, it's an update none-the-less. Thanks for the continued support for this story, even though I've been suspiciously absent for quite awhile. -Luv, Cart**


	15. Chapter 15

The phone barely had time to get through the first ring before it was picked up, L's electronically disguised voice emanating immediately from the other line, "I trust that their's a valid reason you've kidnapped Light's classmate" he spoke, his sarcasm indicative of his worry.

"Of course," Robin said with a smirk at his humor. "We have a… situation. Kenta. He's a psych major. A psych major that just recently finished a book report on yours truly, and apparently his research led him to the Wara Ninyo murders. He and his colleague, A Mrs. Aki, are convinced by their findings that I have ties to a certain detective"

The line was silent, most likely with L's shock at the news. Considering that the Wara Ninyo files had been tied up and sealed tighter than the mask of Light's goody-goody persona, it would take people of massive skill to come across any case information outside of what the news reported. To connect the case with L, or even Robin, was a formidable admission indeed.

"I see" L finally said, "We'll need to bring them in then. Watari can pick up you and the male classmate, and I'll instruct Matsuda to bring the female into custody after today's stake-out ends. I will speak to you again when you arrive at headquarters" without further notice, the line went dead and Robin frowned at the phone before flicking it shut.

Robin turned her attention to Kenta at last, he was having slight trouble breathing with her arm pressed against his windpipe, but nothing so damaging that she was inclined to cease her actions. "You're going to come with me. You and I are going to walk back to the point where we met this morning, and you're going to be absolutely normal doing it. We will not stop for anything, even if you see your classmates or anyone else you know. It's best for you not to find out what could happen should you decline to follow these rules, do you understand?" she asked, relaxing her hold on his windpipe as she did so.

"Y-yes" Kenta croaked out, appearing significantly less frightened about the situation than he should be.

"Good" Robin replied, finally moving out of his bubble of interpersonal space, but taking his hand in hers at the same time.

He looked down, bewildered at the contact, before looking at her with a blush and a grin. "Are you… making a pass at me? Is this sort of thing that gets you goin-"

Robin cut him off with an annoyed scowl, "I'm not flirting, I'm making sure you can't make a break for it. If you try, this way I can break your arm" she stated.

Kenta paled, "So, should we get going then?" he asked, looking both fearful and embarrassed at the same time.

**…**

To say that L was worried would be an understatement; he was downright panicked at the news, not that his exterior would betray so. From the moment that he and the rest of the task force had witnessed Robin pull the teen into the alley, L had felt a foreboding chill. Somehow this stranger with seemily average intelligence had managed to uncover absurdly encrypted files, as well as draw a connection from Robin to the detective L. It absolutely made no sense, if the man was as smart as a task like that would require, there would be no way he would confront Robin when there was the possibility of her being undercover.

Something else was at work, or someone. An outside force had to have pushed Kenta towards the Wara Ninyo case files, someone that Kenta trusted enough to not question. But for what purpose? Robin was truly an innovative leader in her field, but her involvement in the case was kept out of the public eye. Whomever had led Kenta to the case as a subject for his paper had other motives, but what? And, more importantly, who were they after? L-or Robin?

**…**

The place Watari took them too was unfinished, caught in the middle of construction, but the first two floors were complete in their entirety; and it was to the first that Robin accompanied Kenta to. The room they entered was a plain paneled white and held only two metal chairs and a table that were both bolted into the ground. Obviously, it was meant for interrogation.

"Robin, please follow me out-" Whammy began, but was cut off quickly.

"I'm staying," she said immediately. "I know he has cameras and mics in here, I'll be watched to satisfaction" Robin finished.

Whammy sighed heavily at her stubbornness, but retrieved a small headset from his pocket. "You may stay, but you'd better take this" the old man said as he handed her the device. "I must maintain the electronics in the other room, but I'll be able to respond to any incident occurring here. I trust you're still equipped with protection?"

She touched her purse absently as she remembered the gun concealed inside, "Yes, of course. I'll be fine" Robin responded, and Whammy left the room.

Robin adjusted the earpiece before nearly jumping at the immediate voice, "Robin? Watari will make the mics of the room operational in a moment, but until then all I have is the camera feed. I cannot hear you, but please nod if you can hear me" L's static electronic voice requested.

She immediately nodded, "Please take a seat, Kenta" Robin said, gesturing to the lone chair, before gazing around the room and counting the cameras. _Four on each wall, Four in each corner, and one on the ceiling, _She noted.

"Good. When the mics are activated I'll be able to listen in as well as address Kenta, so until then please keep him occupied with other matters. I don't want to miss any pertinent conversation" L stated in her ear.

Robin nodded again, this time directly to one of the cameras, "Kenta, can I get you some water? Or maybe you'd like some tea?" she asked, her voice casual despite her hawk-like eyes glued to the young man.

Kenta was grinning at her. "Is that… _him_? L? Can I meet him?" he asked eagerly.

_Just who the hell does this kid think he is? It's a privilege for even me, who grew up next to him, to be acquainted with L even now. Is he really that stupid, or is his ego just that big? _Robin thought, staring at Kenta in a cold silence. "No, the secrecy of L's identity is of the highest importance" she stated.

"But don't you believe me?" he questioned. "I really do know all about the case, and you, and L. If there's anyone you can trust with his identity, it's me!"

"While that may be, fan boys don't get an automatic meet and greet" Robin said. "It seems as if you don't quite grasp the gravity of this entire situation. The LABB case files were encrypted and protected in such a way to assure that they would never see the light of day. Did it ever cross your mind that there would be a good reason for that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Now, now, there's no reason to get testy" L's electronic voice said suddenly from the speakers embedded in the room, the sudden interruption making Robin jump.

Kenta's eyes lit up immediately. "Is that really you? You have no idea how much I admire your work, sir! I just knew that Robin was working with you, it's a perfect fit with the two of you working together. The Kira case will be solved in no time!" he stated, nearly tripping over his own words in his haste to get them out of his mouth.

L's voice hesitated, perhaps in surprise of the teen's excitement "Yes, thank you, Kenta" he finally said. "Now to cut to the point, if I may, you wouldn't mind answering some questions" L wasn't asking a favor, L was politely ordering. In any other instance, Robin would have snickered at the observation.

"Not at all!" Kenta said cheerfully, "I'll tell you anything you want, sir!"

"What I'm the most curious about, is how you and Aki discovered the Wara Ninyo case" L stated.

Kenta cleared his throat, making a grand display of revealing the fact, "Well, Aki and I were doing research on Mrs. Steele for our class, and we found that there were actually quite few cases she'd worked on that were open to the public. We decided that the more restricted they were, the more valuable they would be in our paper. Aki was the one that really found out about the case… She realized the correlation between the surface information that the media printed on the case and Mrs. Steele's latest secrecy in her work history. We both decided that we needed the case, so we pulled some strings and got the information we needed" he finished.

Something wasn't sitting right with Robin. "Elaborate on 'pulling some strings'" she ordered.

He shrugged, "Well, I don't know the specifics. Aki handled that part" Kenta said.

"Now would be an appropriate time to inform you, R, Aki has just been escorted into the building. She will be joining the two of you in the holding cell momentarily" L's disguised voice cut in.

"Are you saying that Aki was the brains of your entire project?" Robin questioned, choosing not to acknowledge L's words.

Kenta shifted in his seat, his body displaying clear embarrassment. "Uh, well I suppose you could put it that way. It's not as if I wasn't contributing anything. It was her idea to write our paper on you, but still-" he cut himself off as the door opened and both of the two turned to look at the person in question. "Aki" Kenta said warmly with a smile.

"I was really right wasn't I? It is you" Aki said dreamily, staring at Robin as if she didn't hear a word from Kenta.

Whammy guided the girl into the room, the teen continuing to stare at Robin as if in a trance as she stumbled into a seat beside Kenta. "Once again, I will be just down the hall if you require anything" Whammy said, his curious glance at Aki not going unnoticed under Robin's scrutiny.

"Thank you" Robin said to Whammy with a nod, prompting the old man to leave the room.

Robin turned to face the two strange teens in silence, something about Aki's stare making her uneasy and re-enforcing the impression that something was off about the whole situation. "Now, Aki, before you arrived we were discussing the details of the paper that you and Kenta wrote. You remember that project, correct?"

"Yes, yes of course" Aki nodded as she blushed heavily for no foreseeable reason, throwing Robin off by the strange reaction.

"How did you acquire the information on the Wara Ninyo case?" L asked, making Aki jump immediately before looking up at the ceiling in surprise.

She gasped aloud, "Is that…" Aki said with a gulp "Is that really _him_?" she asked, resuming her stare at Robin.

She fought the urge to exasperatedly bury her face in her hands, but instead Robin answered, "Yes, L was immediately involved in this the minute Kenta implied I had a connection to the detective"

"So, you're working with L?" Aki asked, wide-eyed.

"Technically speaking, R is working under me" L's voice said over the intercom.

Robin turned towards the nearest camera and narrowed her eyes at the man behind it, about to object before Aki suddenly launched herself at the psychiatrist. "Oh, I'm so proud of you! Working with _the_ L! You've probably even seen him in person!" she exclaimed, hugging Robin tightly.

Reacting purely on instinct and clouded by her bewilderment, Robin shoved the girl away a little harder than she'd meant to, and Aki slammed against the wall. A silence enveloped the room, leaving the two women to stare at each other. "Do I… Know you?" Robin finally asked, hesitant and confused.

Aki's face recovered from the shock of being thrown against the wall and let out a soft smile. "I thought so. I didn't expect you to remember. It was a long time ago, and you were so young" she said quietly.

"What are you talking about?" Kenta asked, breaking the strange staring spell between the two women. "You've met her before? How?"

"I was never in Japan, or America, as a child. Where do you think you've met me before?" Robin asked, her confusion at the situation turning into a strange nagging at the back of her skull.

Aki once again displayed her strange soft smile, "They wouldn't let me go, I had to stay with Nana on the day they took you"

Robin could feel her body stiffening, the nagging in her skull increasing with every word leaving Aki's mouth.

"They said that you were going to live somewhere else; a place that took in children who weren't right, like you" Aki said. "I never thought that. I knew that you were special, but not in the way that they thought you were" she advanced on Robin, her arms outstretched for a hug. "I loved you, and they took you away from me"

A chord broke inside her, and Robin's hands reacted on their own as they slapped Aki's outstretched arms away. "You… Let them take me" Robin said slowly, as something from the deep recesses of her mind came back to her.

**…**

The taller ones were fighting again. About her? Yes, the way they kept shooting her those looks, they were yelling about her. What did 'retarded' mean? 'freak'? It was loud, too loud. There was crashing, something was breaking, and then unsteady arms were pulling her up.

She'd only just learned to walk, so moving was difficult on her wobbly legs; but the arms helped her. They were somewhere else now, somewhere quieter. A face was smiling. A face still displaying the chubbiness that her own babyish body had. The face smiled again, stuck its tongue out. The face was so funny, it wasn't loud like the tall ones were.

What does 'little sister' mean?

**…**

The memory was messy and blurred by her young age, but with Aki's words the fragments began to come together. "Why did you…?" Robin questioned, her eyebrows knitting in confusion. With her body slumped in the wake of her small struggle, Aki was able to finally enclose her arms around Robin.

"I had no choice" Aki said softly. "We moved shortly after, to dad's parent's house here. When I got old enough, I went back to St. Mary's, but they told me you'd been transferred a long time ago. Since it was a private organization, they hadn't paid much attention to the paperwork. After all these years of trying to find you, I finally did"

"But how? How did you know who I was?" Robin asked, her arms encircling the back of her sister as if on their own.

Aki pulled back from her and smiled again, "Right, I nearly forgot. After those long years of looking futilely by myself, I finally hired a private detective. It was a coincidence really, he knew you even though you'd never gone by the name we gave you. He said to tell you 'Hi' whenever I found you in Japan, he was the one that found out you'd came here after the Wara Ninyo case-he helped me with research for the paper, too. He's still helping me search Japan for you, but I guess I can stop paying him now that I've found you like this"

The feeling crawled up again, like a parasite worming it's way into her brain again and nervously breeding a gut-wrenching worry. _Something isn't right. _"What was his name?" Robin asked groggily, her mind dreamy and lost as if an out of body experience was overtaking her.

"Rue Ryuzaki"

Robin jarred backwards, inadvertently slamming herself against the room's solid metal door. One hand flew to her mouth, covering it in horror as she felt a sudden sickness overwhelm her. She gasped for air in her panicked state, her mind hovering over only one memory, a card;

_Rue Ryuzaki, Detective_


End file.
